INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Fairmont State, the top-seed out of the MEC North Division, moved on to the MEC Tournament finals with a 3-0 win over Davis & Elkins (26-24, 25-22, 25-18) on Friday evening during the semifinal round in Institute.
The Falcons (10-2, 8-2 MEC) hit .208 in the match and had 72 digs. D&E (9-3, 8-2 MEC) had a .139 hitting percentage on the night.
With the win, Fairmont State advances to the MEC Championship Match to face defending champion Wheeling University. WU earned its spot in the finals by picking up a 3-1 win over host West Virginia State in today's second semifinal.
Fairmont State and Wheeling, which split their two matches this year and shared the North Division title, will meet in the finals on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of West Virginia State.
Fairmont State advances to the MEC Tournament Championship Match for the first time since 2016.
The Senators led 23-20 in the first set, but Fairmont State scored the next four points to move ahead, 24-23. After D&E tied the match at 24-24, FSU's
Amelia Moore hammered home a pair of kills to give the Falcons the first set.
In the second set, Fairmont State led by just a point at 15-14, but scored the next four points to get some breathing room. The Senators managed to get to within two points at 24-22, but Moore again scored the final point.
The third set saw each team go on several runs until the match was tied at 16-16. From that point, the Falcons rattled off nine of the next 11 points to close out the match in straight sets.
Keara Lewis led Fairmont State with 15 kills to go with 16 digs. Lewis hit .283 in the match with just two errors. The Falcons also got eight kills from Moore, seven kills and 10 digs from
Julia DiPaola, and six kills from
Madison Chapman.
Kelsey Moeller and
Lilianna Keber directed the offense with 18 and 16 assists, respectively. Moeller also was in on five blocks.
Bryce Knapp came up with a team-high 22 digs.
Macie Magallon had 15 kills for the Senators. Brilance Manchego had 31 assists. Brianna Portley and Mya Mintschenko each were credited with five blocks for the Yellow Jackets.
