FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State (13-12, 7-4 Mountain East Conference) volleyball team edged Concord University (14-12) in four sets on Friday (Sept. 27) night in Joe Retton Arena.
 
Joey Borelle and Ellie Zuro both smashed 14 kills on the night. Jaianna Bouarouy passed 26 assists, while Kelsie Dangerfield had 22 assists. Josie Skinn picked up 23 digs while Borelle (12) Jay Miller (10) both reached double figures in digs. Emma Ludwig led the Falcons at the net with seven block assists and Chloe McDaniel added five. Ludwig, Miller and Dangerfield all recorded a service ace.
 
Inside Set One
Fairmont State was able to pull ahead of Concord 3-2 on a block from Natalie Zemba and Zuro. FSU continued their offensive pressure with kills from McDaniel, Zemba, and Ludwig to force a 14-6 edge over CU. A kill from Zuro stopped a run by the Mountain Lions making the score 17-11. An FSU kill by Josie Nobbe and a service ace by Miller helped the Falcons push the lead to 22-13. Fairmont State was able to control the rest of the action to and took the opening set against Concord with a score of 25-18.
 
Inside Set Two
After Concord won the first four points of the second set, the Falcons rallied out of a timeout and jumped in the lead, 5-4. Both teams fought closely to pull ahead by more than a point but were unable to do so for most of the set. Fairmont State's Borelle and Zuro came up with big kills to keep the Falcons in the set. Concord gained separation and went ahead by three to force an FSU timeout at 21-18. A CU service error and a Borelle kill kept the Falcons close to the Mountain Lions' lead, 22-20. Concord earned set point off an attack error from Fairmont State to grab the second set 25-22 to even the match at 1-1.
 
Inside Set Three
A service ace from Dangerfield tied the third set at 4-4. Concord rolled to an 11-5 lead after outscoring FSU 7-1. Back-to-back kills by Ludwig aided in the FSU offensive efforts, which decreased CU's edge 11-9. A kill by Vicky Manda and a Bouarouy service ace evened the score at 13-13. After Concord went ahead by three points, Borelle and Nobbe kept the CU lead in check by each notching a kill. In another back-and-forth battle by both sides, FSU's Ludwig and Borelle powered kills to keep the Falcons within one point at 21-20 CU. The Mountain Lions would pull ahead 24-21, and had set point in their grasp. The Falcons surged back and tied the score at 24-24 after a Borelle kill, a block by the duo of Manda and Zuro and a kill by Zuro. Zuro hit three consecutive kills to finish off the third set and complete the comeback with a 26-24 win.
 
Inside Set Four
The Mountain Lions held a 7-5 lead at the beginning of the fourth set. FSU's McDaniel pounded a kill that completed a 3-0 FSU run to give Fairmont State an 8-7 advantage. After huge defensive efforts by both sides, Fairmont State came away with a 10-8 edge above Concord. The Falcons generated a key six-point scoring run that pushed the lead to 18-12 late in the set. A block Ludwig and Nobbe extended the FSU lead to 19-14. Kills by McDaniel and Manda put the Falcons within two points of the win. Borelle's 14^th kill of the night and a combo block by Taylor Paul and Manda gave the Falcons a 25-18 set four win.
 
Up Next
Fairmont State volleyball will celebrate senior day tomorrow (Oct. 28) at 2 p.m. when Shaw visits Joe Retton Arena. The senior day festivities will begin before the match.