Holy Family 3, Fairmont State 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19)
 
Fairmont State dropped its season opener to Holy Family, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19), on Saturday morning during the first match of the Fairmont State Tri-Match at Joe Retton Arena.
 
Fairmont State started fast by jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the opening set before Holy Family charged back with eight of the next nine points to take its first lead at 10-9. Later in the set with the score tied at 19-19 apiece, the Tigers reeled off six of the final seven points in the set to win the frame 25-20.
 
Holy Family continued its strong play in set two, grabbing an early 10-3 advantage. The Tigers led by at least five points the rest of the way, including a set-high 22-10 advantage late in the set.
 
Fairmont State continued to fight in the third set, as the teams battled to a 17-17 tie a little over halfway through the frame. However, four-straight points by HFU proved to be enough to clinch the victory as the Tigers recorded eight of the final 10 points.
 
Emma Mobley led the Falcons with eight kills, seven digs and three block assists. Rebecca Feeney also turned in a strong performance around the net with seven kills and eight total blocks. Julia DiPaola and Kelsey Moeller each tallied 10 digs apiece for the Falcons. Lily Keber and Moeller guided the Fairmont State offense in the match with 12 and nine assists, respectively.
 
Carly Covington led Holy Family with 17 points and 19 digs in the win. Jamie Bonner and Chase Wassel each chipped in 12 kills apiece for the Tigers.
 
Pitt-Johnstown 3, Fairmont State 2 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-12)
 
In the second match of the day, Fairmont State came up just short after rallying from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set.
 
After the Mountain Lions regained the lead following a 25-18 victory in set three, the Falcons responded late in set four by tallying four-consecutive points to take a 21-17 advantage. A pair of blocks and two Taylor Wisniewski kills keyed the stretch. Fairmont State forced the fifth set by picking up a 25-20 win in set four.
 
The Falcons couldn't maintain their momentum, though, as UPJ stormed out to a 5-0 advantage early in set five. Fairmont State hung around late, cutting UPJ's lead to just a single point on four occasions before the 'Cats put away the win with a 15-12 edge in set five.
 
Mobley paced the Falcons with 13 kills and 23 digs in this afternoon's matchup against UPJ. Emily Suppel also reached double-figures with 11 kills and three blocks assists.
 
Fairmont State held a 14-12 edge in blocks during the match, which included a 10-block performance from Wisniewski. Bri Washburn also chipped in eight blocks and Feeney tallied four against the Mountain Cats. In addition to Mobley's 23 digs, Alyssa Bays chipped in 16 and DiPaola added 14. Bays just missed a double-double by also tallying nine kills.
 
Lily Keber and Kelsey Moeller paced the Fairmont State attack against UPJ with 21 and 19 assists, respectively.
 
Noelle Carota (17) and Maura Brehl (13) paced Pitt-Johnstown with double-figure kills in the win. Anna Johns chipped in nine total blocks (three solo).
 
Up Next
 
Fairmont State will return to action next Friday with a 2 p.m. matchup against Salem University at the West Chester Crossover.