NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The Fairmont State (4-3) volleyball team stormed back after being down two sets to Roberts Wesleyan (0-4) before falling to Walsh (6-0) on Friday (Sept. 8) at the Hall of Fame City Challenge in North Canton, Ohio.
 
Match One – Fairmont State 3, Roberts Wesleyan 2
The Falcons were neck-and-neck with the Red Hawks in the first two sets. Roberts Wesleyan edged the Falcons 26-24 in set one and 34-32 in set two and held a two-set lead. The Red Hawks started the third set with a 6-2 advantage. After a RWC service error and attack error, Baylie Ostvig collected a kill to pull the Falcons within one point. Fairmont State tied the score on the next rally thanks to a Red Hawks attack error. Fairmont State seized control of the lead from a key 8-3 run that featured five kills by Borelle. Fairmont State pushed the lead to seven points after an Ostvig kill and a Josie Nobbe kill to go up 18-11. The Falcons scored the final three points of the set from two Borelle kills and a kill by Emma Ludwig to make the set score 2-1.
 
Fairmont State led set four 9-8 when Ludwig and Nobbe hit back-to-back kills. Nobbe added two more kills in the set to bump the Falcons' lead to 14-9. Roberts Wesleyan could not cut the Fairmont State lead to less than four points down the stretch. Ludwig chipped in a kill that gave Fairmont State a 25-18 win to send the match to a fifth set.
 
With the score tied at four, Roberts Wesleyan committed an attack error and a bad set to put Fairmont State in the lead, 6-4. RWC went on a 3-0 run and regained the lead, 9-8. Ludwig answered with a kill to tie the set at 9-9. The Red Hawks won the next two decisions and led 11-9 late in the fifth set. Fairmont State found a groove and scored the final six points without allowing a RWC score. Ostvig swung back-to-back kills and Nobbe ended the match with her 13^th kill of the match to seal the win for Fairmont State.
 
Borelle finished with a career-high 23 kills and hustled down 15 digs. Jaianna Bouarouy distributed 37 assists. Ludwig swung for eight kills and made two blocks at the net. Jay Miller, Bouarouy and Natalie Zemba all had service aces. Josie Skinn led the team with 24 digs.
 
Match Two – Walsh 3, Fairmont State 0
The Cavaliers led by as many as 16 points in the opening set. Fairmont State cut into the deficit with a 4-1 run that included two attack errors, a service error and a bad set. Ostvig tallied three kills in the first set. Walsh won the first set, 25-12.
 
An Ostvig kill pulled Fairmont State within two points early in the second set. A Zemba kill and an attack error by Walsh made the score 6-5 in favor of the home team. The Falcons took the lead after Cayden Anschutz and Borelle recorded kills at 8-7. A Zemba service ace and a Borelle kill put Fairmont State in the lead, 12-8. Walsh regrouped and fired off an 8-1 scoring run to reclaim a three-point lead. Fairmont State evened the score at 16 thanks to a Borelle kill and two bad sets by the Cavs. With the Falcons trailing by two points, Ostvig hit consecutive kills to tie the score at 18. The Cavaliers scored three-straight points and did not relinquish the lead. The Cavs won set two, 25-21
 
In set three, the score was tied at 8-8 when Ludwig put down a kill to give the Falcons the lead. Walsh posted five consecutive points and led 13-9. Fairmont State trimmed the Walsh lead to four points late in the set when Borelle recorded a service ace. The Cavaliers claimed the next four rallies and completed set three with a 25-17 win.
 
Borelle was the kill leader for Fairmont State with nine while Ostvig added eight. Borelle and Zemba both picked up an ace. Ludwig and Anschutz each stuffed a pair of blocks. Bouarouy passed 11 assists and Skinn grabbed 16 digs.
 
Up Next
The Fairmont State volleyball team will wrap up play at the Hall of Fame City Challenge tomorrow (Sept. 9). The Falcons will play Mercyhurst at 11:15 a.m. before meeting Seton Hill at 3:45 p.m.