WHEELING, W.Va. -- Urbana outlasted Fairmont State in a back-and-forth third set and went on to pick up a 3-1 victory over the Falcons on Thursday afternoon during the quarterfinal round of the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Tournament at the McDonough Center in Wheeling.
 
The Falcons and Blue Knights combined for six set-points in the third set, including four times where Fairmont State had to fend off defeat during the set. However, Urbana tied the match at 29-29 to fend off a Fairmont State set-point and went on to win the set by a score of 31-29.
 
With the victory, second-seeded Urbana (18-12) moves on to Friday's semifinal round against third-seeded West Virginia State. Fairmont State wraps up the 2019 season with a 16-15 overall record.
 
The Falcons were led in the setback by Julia DiPaola with 17 kills and nine digs. Senior middle hitter Rebecca Feeney also chipped in 13 kills and five total blocks in the match, recording a hitting percentage of .385. Amelia Moore also chipped in eight kills and three blocks, and Emma Mobley and Taylor Wisniewski each tallied six kills apiece.
 
Bryce Knapp recorded a team-high 20 digs, while setter Lily Keber recorded a double-double with 47 assists and 14 digs.
 
Statistically the match was even with Fairmont State outhitting the Blue Knights by a narrow margin (.163-to-.155). The Falcons also held a 9-4 advantage in blocks.
 
Urbana, however, was aided by eight service aces in the win.
 
The Blue Knights got a team-high 16 kills and five aces from Hannah Delor in the win. Lexi Reinert also had double-digit kills with 13 to go along with four blocks. Natalie Perez also chipped in eight kills.
 
Courtney Niesen recorded a team-high 26 digs for the Blue Knights, while setter Anna Davis passed out 46 assists.