The Basics
Fairmont State volleyball continues Mountain East Conference play this week with two matches versus MEC North foes. Fairmont State returns to Joe Retton Arena on Tuesday (Sept. 26) and will face Wheeling at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the week at West Liberty on Friday (Sept. 29) for a 7 p.m. match.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• Fairmont State snapped a four-match losing streak last Friday (Sept. 22) in the MEC opener at Glenville State, sweeping the Pioneers on the road.
• The Falcons rank first as a team in the MEC in team total blocks (113.0) and digs per set (17.35). Fairmont State is second in the conference in team digs (937), team kills (661) and blocks per set (2.09).
• Josie Skinn has racked up the fourth-highest dig total in the country and has made 299 digs in her first 15 matches. Skinn leads the conference with 5.54 digs per set and is 10^th out of all Division II players.
• Joey Borelle has accumulated 183 kills this season, which is the second-highest kill total out of any player in the conference. The sophomore from Norton, Ohio has tracked down 188 digs, which is the sixth in the league.
• Emma Ludwig leads the MEC in total blocks with 55. The senior ranks third in the conference with 1.04 blocks per set.
• Freshman Ellie Zuro appears in the top 10 of the MEC kills leaderboard and has totaled 153 kills in her first 15 matches of her freshman campaign.
• Jaianna Bouarouy leads the Falcons with 311 assists. Kelsie Dangerfield has tallied 207 assists.
• Natalie Zemba has hit 14 service aces, which is the highest total for the Falcons.
• Josie Nobbe enters this week averaging 2.55 points/set and has recorded 116 total kills.
• Travis Hinkle reached career win number 100 as a head coach after Friday night's victory at Glenville State. Hinkle previously led the Notre Dame (Ohio) volleyball program.

Scouting Wheeling
The Cardinals dropped their MEC opener on Friday night at West Virginia State in a 3-0 decision. The Yellow Jackets snapped the Cards' four-match winning streak.
 
Wheeling sits atop the MEC with 13.74 kills per set, 13.05 assists per set and 2.11 blocks per set. Karly Niesen is the MEC's leader with 11.31 assists per set. Tylah Yeomans is averaging 3.67 kills/set while Riley Kindall has logged a 3.43 kills/set average to lead Wheeling. Kindall leads the Cardinals with 3.45 digs/set.
 
Wheeling is led by Christy Benner. Benner coached the Cardinals to the 2015 NCAA National Championship.
 
Scouting West Liberty
The Hilltoppers bested Charleston in the conference-opening match last Friday night by a score of 3-2. WLU won the fifth set by a score of 18-16 to edge the Golden Eagles. Entering this week, West Liberty holds a record of 11-4 overall.
 
West Liberty leads the MEC in team assists (688), team kills (744) and team digs (1,024). The 'Toppers have limited opponents to a 0.148 hitting percentage. Libero Nyia Setla has snagged 310 digs, which is the highest total out of any defensive specialist in the conference. Offensively, Katelynn Fritz (2.64 kills/set) and Ashley Cudnik (2.63 kills/set) lead WLU.

Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season at the helm of West Liberty volleyball. Jarrett and the Hilltoppers qualified for their first NCAA Atlantic Regional appearance in 2022. She competed for the Mount Union Purple Raiders.
 
Up Next
The Falcons begin October at home with a match on Oct. 3 versus Notre Dame (Ohio) at 7 p.m.