FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State Women's Volleyball team (21-9, 11-5 MEC) will begin postseason play as the second seed from the Mountain East Conference North Division and matchup with the second seed from the MEC South Division in the University of Charleston (21-10, 12-6 MEC) in the first round of the MEC Tournament. The match is slated for 7:30 p.m. tomorrow on the campus of West Virginia State University.

The Fighting Falcons ended their regular season with a resounding sweep over Frostburg State last Thursday with Keara Lewis and Julia DiPaola both collecting double-doubles on the night inside Joe Retton Arena.

Five Teams from the MEC North Division made the postseason tournament with Wheeling University, West Liberty University, Notre Dame College, and Frostburg State University all earning bids to the quarterfinals on Thursday. West Virginia State University, Davis & Elkins College, and Charleston are the three remaining teams from the MEC South Division to make up the eight-team tournament slated to start at noon on Thursday.

Fairmont State enters Thursday's contest third in hitting percentage as a team with a percentage of .220. The Fighting Falcons have tallied 1,304 total kills in 30 contests. The Maroon and White are fourth overall in total assists with 1,188 and average 11.53 assists per set. Fairmont State, as a team, sits in fifth overall in total kills and total blocks with 1,304 kills and 188.5 total blocks, respectively.

DiPaola leads the offensive attack on the season in kills (300) and total points (347.5). Lewis follows closely for the Falcons with 249 kills and averages 3.19 kills per set. Lilianna Keber only needs 22 more assists to hit the 1,000-assist mark in the fall season as she sits at 978 season assists and 2,859 assists in her four-year career.

DiPaola also leads the defense in total digs with 351 and has tallied 35 total blocks in 30 matches. Emma Ludwig has been a force at the net collecting 85 total blocks with a season-high seven blocks coming on September 3rd in a match against Lake Erie.

#3S University of Charleston

The University of Charleston Golden Eagles finished their regular-season schedule with an overall record of 21-10 and 12-6 in MEC play.

The Golden Eagles fell in four sets in their regular-season finale to the number one ranked West Virginia State out of the MEC South Division last Friday.

On the attack, Sage Bearnson has a team-high 379 kills on the season and averages 3.45 kills per set.

On the defensive side of the net, Madison Jackson wrapped up her regular season with a team-high 416 digs as Maria Hernandez follows with 329 digs.

In their only head-to-head competition this season, Fairmont State raced back to win in five sets over the Golden Eagles as the Falcons earned the final two sets on October 30th to grab the match. Lewis guided the Falcons with 17 kills as DiPaola and Ludwig chipped in 12 kills each.

Fairmont State and Charleston kick off their MEC postseason play on Thursday, November 18th at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of West Virginia State University.