FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State (16-14) volleyball team defeated Salem (3-23) 3-1 in the final home match of the 2023 season on Monday (Nov. 6) night inside Joe Retton Arena.
Ellie Zuro continued her strong stretch offensively and finished with a match-high 14 kills.
Josie Nobbe added nine and
Emma Ludwig chipped in eight kills.
Josie Skinn swung a season-high eight service aces and grabbed 27 digs for FSU.
Joey Borelle racked up 20 digs.
Emma Ludwig defended five blocks at the net to lead the Falcons. Jaiana Bouarouy facilitated the offense with 31 assists, while
Kelsie Dangerfield totaled 10 assists.
Fairmont State raced out to an 8-2 lead after earning five-straight points that featured a trio of kills by Zuro, a Skinn service ace and a combo block by
Natalie Zemba and Nobbe. Ludwig extended the Fairmont State advantage to seven with a kill that was assisted by
Lindsey Ulring that made the score 14-7. Nobbe went off for three-straight kills and the Falcons' lead grew to 21-11. Salem would not decrease FSU's lead by less than seven points down the stretch and a Borelle kill from Bouarouy wrapped a bow on the first set with a 25-15 Falcons' win.
Skinn's second service ace of the night made the score 8-4 in favor of the Falcons in the second set. The Tigers seized their first lead of the second set after firing off five unanswered points to go ahead 10-9. With the score even at 14-14, the Falcons started to click and ripped off 11-straight points. Ludwig kicked off the massive scoring run with a kill that was assisted by Bouarouy. Zemba, Nobbe and Zuro all collected kills that increased the Falcons' lead to 18-14. After a Salem attack error, Skinn dropped another service ace that gave Fairmont State a 20-14 cushion. The Falcons secured the final five points with kills by Zuro and Nobbe, a pair of SU attack errors and Skinn's third service ace of the set to win 25-14 in set two.
The Tigers responded in the third set by taking a 7-2 lead in the early action. The Falcons won three consecutive rallies to diminish Salem's lead to 9-6. Trailing by five points, the Falcons stormed back and took the lead after a 6-0 scoring run that included a pair of service aces by
Kaylen Pot and a
Taylor Paul kill. The Tigers reclaimed the lead out of a timeout and controlled a 17-13 lead. FSU went on another scoring run after two kills by Borelle and a kill each by
Chloe McDaniel and Bouarouy. With the Falcons holding an 18-17 advantage, Salem jumped back in front with a trio of unanswered points. A Tigers' service error and attack error leveled the score at 20-20. The Tigers were on the cusp of set point after winning four points in a row. The Falcons dug deep and tied the score at 24-24 after a McDaniel kill, a Skinn service ace, a combo block by McDaniel and Zemba and a Nobbe kill. Salem captured the final two points of the set and escaped with a 27-25 set three win.
After both teams split the first 10 rallies of the fourth set, Zuro notched a kill and Salem committed an attack error that made the score 7-5. Fairmont State's lead increased to four points when Nobbe and Zemba sliced kills and Salem made a ball handling error. Zuro's 13th kill of the match and a Salem attack error pushed the Falcons to a 14-9 lead. Skinn recorded her eighth service ace of the evening that extended the Fairmont State lead to 16-10. The Falcons took control of the set with a 5-0 scoring run that included two kills by Borelle, a kill by McDaniel a Zemba service ace and a Salem attack error. Ludwig collected the final kill of the night on a pass from Bouarouy that ended the match with a 25-18 set four win for the Falcons.
The Fairmont State volleyball team hits the road to finish regular season play at Frostburg State on Friday (Nov. 10). First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Maryland.
