The Fairmont State volleyball team will play Charleston tomorrow (Nov. 16) at noon in the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Tournament. The quarterfinal round match will be played at the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of West Virginia State. More information about the MEC Volleyball Tournament can be accessed at the MEC Volleyball Championship Central. The MEC is providing a live stream and live stats for all matches throughout the tournament.

Fighting Falcons Facts

• Fairmont State enters the conference tournament with a 17-14 overall record and finished third place in the MEC North with an 8-6 record versus conference opponents. FSU was ranked No. 9 in the Atlantic Regional Rankings that were released on Nov. 8. The Fighting Falcons are on a two-match winning streak after closing out the regular season with wins versus Salem and Frostburg State.
• On Oct. 14, Fairmont State and Charleston played in a thrilling five-set match inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont with the Fighting Falcons defeating UC 15-10 in the deciding set. Four Falcons tallied double-digit kill totals in the match with Joey Borelle leading the way with 16 kills.
• As a team, the Falcons lead the MEC in blocks per set (2.34 blocks/set) and team total blocks (266.5). Fairmont State is fourth in the nation in total team blocks with senior Emma Ludwig leading the charge with 129 total blocks. Ludwig has accumulated the sixth-highest block total in the nation and leads all MEC players in total blocks. Freshman Natalie Zemba has made an immediate impact at the net by recording the fourth-highest block total in the league at 98 total blocks.
• Fairmont State libero Josie Skinn has had a tremendous season and has been selected MEC Defensive Player of the Week two times (Oct. 16 & Nov. 12). The Norwalk, Ohio native leads the conference in digs per set (5.27 digs/set) and total digs (601). Her dig total is the third-highest out of all Division II players. Her 42 service aces are the eighth-highest total in the league and she set a career-high eight service aces in last week's match versus Salem.
• Six of the seven Fairmont State players in Hinkle's starting lineup are either freshman or sophomores (Borelle, Skinn, Zemba, Ellie Zuro, Josie Nobbe & Jaianna Bouarouy). Borelle leads the Falcons and is third in the conference with 362 total kills and has snagged 409 total digs, which is the fifth-highest total in the league. Zuro cracked the top-10 MEC kills leaderboard in her first collegiate season with 330 total kills. A transfer from Queens University (N.C.), Bouarouy ranks seventh in the conference with 5.88 assists/set. Nobbe's 249 kills are the third-highest on the team.
• Travis Hinkle is in his third season leading Fairmont State volleyball. Under Hinkle's direction, Fairmont State volleyball achieved the highest winning percentage in school history (.829) last season after his team went 29-6. The Falcons qualified for a trip to the 2022 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament and earned the program's first regional tournament appearance since 2016. Fairmont State has qualified for the conference tournament each season under Hinkle's watch.
• Coach Hinkle earned his 100th career victory as a head coach this season in a 3-0 win at Glenville State on Sept. 22. Before Fairmont State, Hinkle was at the helm of Notre Dame (Ohio) volleyball where he registered a record of 43-36 in three seasons. While at NDC, Hinkle shattered the school's single-season win record in 2019 and led the Falcons to a 23-12 season. NDC qualified for the MEC Tournament each year he led the program (2018-2020) and was the first coach to lead the Falcons to MEC postseason appearances in consecutive seasons.

Scouting Charleston
The Golden Eagles placed second in the MEC South after recording a conference record of 11-4. The Golden Eagles lead the MEC in team kills (1,436), team service aces (267) and aces per set (2.30). Helping UC achieve the top service ace marks in the conference is Emma Shepherd, who has tallied 68 service aces this season, which is the third-highest total in the country. The outside hitter from Plain City, Ohio has racked up 302 kills to lead the Golden Eagles offensively. Maria Hernandez and Suzan Agterberg have combined to pass 888 assists. Freshman libero Chloe Fortner has accumulated 298 digs in 107 sets. Reagan McLean, a junior middle blocker from Georgetown, Ky., leads UC with 98.0 total blocks.

2022 MEC Coach of the Year Tyler Kanelos has guided the Golden Eagles to at least 20 wins in his first three seasons leading the program. Kanelos led Charleston's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 last season and secured UC's first NCAA Tournament victory since 1998.