Fairmont, W. Va., -- To open Mountain East Conference play, the defending MEC Champs from Wheeling University would fend off the Falcons in four sets, 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22) in front of a large crowd at Joe Retton Arena on Tuesday night.
As a team, Fairmont State hit for .259, while the Cardinals hit at .279. Senior Keara Lewis led the Falcons' offensive efforts with 18 total kills. Sophomore Nyla Birch hit for .375 to add to her 13 kills on the evening. Sophomore setter Lauren Albrecht would aid with 32 assists and two service aces.
The defensive units within the game were very effective, as senior Bryce Knapp led with 14 digs, with Lewis and freshman Josie Skinn adding another 10 digs each.
Set 1
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle, which was tied at 11-11 after a huge kill from Lewis. Birch had three crucial kills in the set to even it at 14-14. Fairmont State would eventually trail 18-15, where the Falcons would have a spark after their timeout. Senior Madison Chapman had a kill, which then gave Knapp a chance to serve where she forced an ace. A kill by senior Amelia Moore would then force Wheeling to take a timeout at 18-18. Fairmont State would eventually take the lead at 21-19 after two offensive plays to force the Cardinals to take another timeout. Wheeling fought back to make the score even at 22-22, but Birch would answer again to gain a point for her team. With pressure rising, Lewis would gain a kill to even the score 24-24. The Cardinals would hold off the Falcons' effective offensive unit to win the very tight set, 26-24.
Set 2
The Falcons came back fighting for the second set, where they led early on, 5-2. Two kills by freshman Joey Borelle would keep the teams tied at 9-9. The Falcons would trail 12-9, where they would take a timeout. Fairmont State was down by as many as 7 points in the set, when they started to make a comeback. Wheeling was forced to take a timeout when the Falcons made the score 17-20, which was an effort led by offensive plays from Borelle and Moore. Fairmont State would tie it up 20-20 after a huge block by Birch and Moore. This comeback of a Falcons' attack was not enough to win the set, as the Cardinals would win the set 25-20.
Set 3
Wanting to gain momentum after trailing 0-2, the Falcons started off strong during the third set, 7-2, after multiple defensive blocks and kills by the Fairmont State offense. Two kills by senior Madison Chapman would keep the Falcons lead intact to make the score 12-8. Fairmont State was able to hold on to a consistent point advantage to push ahead, 19-14. Pressed to hinder the Falcons' attack, Wheeling took a timeout. Albrecht's service ace and Birch and Ludwig's block made for a 22-15 lead in favor of the Falcons. Ahead 24-18, junior Jay Miller served an ace to give Fairmont State the edge in the third set, 25-18.
Set 4
The Falcons strived to continue their success into the fourth set. The teams would go head-to-head until the Cardinals would pull ahead to 7-4 after being tied with the Falcons, 4-4. A huge block by Borelle and Ludwig, and a kill by Ludwig would send the score to 9-9. Multiple kills for Wheeling and attacking errors by Fairmont State pressed the Cardinals lead to 16-10, where the Falcons would hope to bounce back. Borelle and Lewis had another kill each, in hopes to turn the Wheeling lead around. Two consecutive Fairmont State blocks made for much excitement to move the set to 17-14, which would force a Cardinals' timeout. Fairmont State came out tough, where Lewis would have two kills, and Moore would add one more to help the Falcons to a 17-17 battle. The Falcons would go down 20-17 but would start to work back to make it 21-20, after plays by Birch, Chapman, and Moore. An attacking error by the Cardinals would push the lead to only 23-22. Unfortunately, the Falcons were unable to defend the match, where they would fall 25-22 to end the contest.
Fairmont State are back in action this Friday. They will host Notre Dame College at Joe Retton Arena in the Feaster Center this September 23rd at 3:00 p.m. during Homecoming Weekend.
