FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State volleyball team (10-11, 3-3 Mountain East Conference) dropped a contest to West Virginia State (15-4, 6-1 MEC) in a battle that included four sets of action. The two squads honored those who have been affected by Breast Cancer in the annual 'Dig Pink' match on Friday (Oct. 13) evening.
 
Fairmont State's Joey Borelle led both sides in kills with 19 with a .341 hitting percentage. She added 21 digs and one service ace. Jaianna Bouarouy passed 22 assists, and Kelsie Dangerfield followed suit with 18 assists on the night. Emma Ludwig and Josie Nobbe each swung for seven kills. Ludwig finished with six blocks, while Nobbe claimed three of her own. On the defensive end, Josie Skinn corralled 22 digs for the FSU side. Jay Miller claimed 11 of her own digs. On the serve, Bouarouy, Dangerfield, and Skinn tallied two aces each.
 
Inside Set One
Fairmont State was first on the scoreboard off a Borelle kill. The WVSU offense started swinging well where they would eventually lead the opening set 9-4. With a kill by Zuro, a block by Cayden Anschutz and Natalie Zemba, and a kill by Zemba, the Fairmont State offense swung momentum to their side. A huge dig by Skinn and a Yellow Jackets' attacking error tied the score up at 9-9. After falling behind, Ludwig came back with a kill and Borelle ripped off a pair of kills to even the score, 14-14. A block by the combination of Zuro and Ludwig allowed the Falcons to pull ahead 15-14. Two kills by Borelle and a service ace by Bouarouy helped FSU to gain their largest lead of the first set, 18-14. Kills by Zuro and Nobbe, and a block by Zemba and Zuro pushed the Fairmont State advantage to 23-17. WVSU would come back to win the next two points, but Zuro fired a kill to force set point. Fairmont State won the initial set off a kill from Nobbe with a final score of 25-21.
 
Inside Set Two
The Falcons went up by two after a service error by the Yellow Jackets and an ace by Borelle. Another service ace by Dangerfield and a great defensive play by Skinn gave Fairmont State the lead 6-4. Back-to-back kills by Ludwig and Borelle carried on with the FSU offense to make the score 10-7. WVSU rallied with a scoring run and tied the set at 11-11. The Falcons were able to fight back and regained the lead at 14-11. West Virginia State stayed in the game with two kills to make the score 16-16. FSU would claim the next two points, which included a kill by Anschutz, but WVSU pulled ahead for the first time since the start of the second set, 20-18. A kill by Fairmont State's Ludwig trimmed the lead to just one point for WV State. The Yellow Jackets took the next point which was then responded by Borelle with a kill to adjust the score to 21-20, still in WVSU's favor. FSU continued to work from behind on the defensive end with a block by Ludwig and Nobbe to make the tally 22-21. A kill by Zuro and Borelle evened the score at 23-23. West Virginia State pushed across the finish line by winning the last two points of the set and evened the match score following a 25-23 win.
 
Inside Set Three
FSU pulled ahead 4-1 over WVSU to start the third set. The Yellow Jackets evened the score at 5-5. Kills by Borelle and Zemba made the score 10-6 in favor of the Falcons. WVSU came back to score the next four consecutive points, evening the score at 10-10. The Yellow Jackets' offense continued their success, gaining the advantage for the next few points until FSU pulled back ahead 13-12. WVSU swung for three kills and inched ahead, 16-13. Borelle's kill and a block by Ludwig and Nobbe made an effort to decrease the lead for WVSU. The Falcons continued to work from behind, which included a serving ace by Dangerfield to make the score 19-18, still in favor of WV State. The Yellow Jackets earned set point at 24-19. Kills by Borelle and Ludwig, and an assited block by the same duo led to a two-point deficit for the Falcons. West Virginia State snagged the set point in a 25-22 result.
 
Inside Set Four
Back-and-forth kills by the two sides resulted in a 3-3 tie. WVSU won the next five points to push the count to 8-3. Two kills from Borelle made the score 10-8, still in WVSU's favor. Kills by Bouarouy and Zemba helped the Falcons climb back into the set and trimmed the Yellow Jackets' lead to 16-14. Nobbe earned a kill for the FSU side at 17-15. West Virginia State was able to gain the next two points increasing their advantage. A kill by Borelle made the score 19-16 WVSU. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on attacking errors by the Falcons which put WVSU up by six points. Kills by both Borelle anad Ludwig, and a block by the same duo dwindled the State advantage to 22-19. After a FSU attacking error, WVSU reached the potential final point of the match at match point, 24-20. A kill by Baylie Ostvig and a block by Ostvig and Zemba and gave the Falcons a chance at extending the match. After a WVSU timeout, the duo of Ostvig and Zemba tied the set up 24-24 with a block. A kill by WV State and then one by FSU's Nobbe evened the set again at 25-25. Two more kills by the Yellow Jackets closed out the match with a 27-25 set four win.
 
Up Next
Fairmont State will look to bounce back quickly and will play the Golden Eagles of the University of Charleston tomorrow (Oct. 14). The match is set for Saturday (Oct. 14) morning at 11:00 a.m. inside Joe Retton Arena.