WHEELING, W.Va. -- The Fairmont State University women's volleyball team opened the Atlantic Crossover hosted by Wheeling University against Shippensburg and Gannon. The Falcons best the Raiders in the first match, 3-1, before falling in tough five-set battle with the Golden Knights.

Match 1: Fairmont State 3, Shippensburg 1

Joey Borelle led Fairmont State by recording her ninth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 15 digs. Kelsie Dangerfield also finished with a double-double with 21 assists and 16 digs while Belle DeVall recorded 20 assists. Josie Skinn paced the defense with 23 digs as Natalie Zemba and Alexa Martin finished with five blocks.

In the first set, Fairmont State scored the first three points with two kills from Borelle. However, Shippensburg responded with a 7-0 run. The two squads went exchanged points until the Falcons rattled off six-straight to even the set at 13. FSU started to take control of the set and it did not look back for the 25-20 win.

Similar to the first set, the Raiders grabbed the early lead as the Falcons were able to pull within two (14-12). That was the closest margin Shippensburg allowed as it pulled away and went on to win the set, 25-19.

The two sides were evenly matched to start third and with the score tied at eight, Fairmont State won nine of the next 10 points to open a 17-9 lead. The Raiders did not go away and narrowed the margin to two (23-21). A block by Zemba and Chloe McDaniel followed by a kill from Borelle capped off a 25-21 set win.

From the start of the fourth set, the Falcons grasped the early lead. Trailing by six (17-11), Shippensburg was able to cut the deficit down to one (18-17). Fairmont State opened the margin to five (24-19) before the Raiders won the next two points. However, a kill off the hand of Adella Rodriguez secured the set win (25-21) and the match.

Match 2: Gannon 3, Fairmont State 2

The opening set saw both teams use various runs to exchange the lead. Late in the set, Gannon was one point away from taking the set (24-23) but kills by Josie Nobbe and Baylie Ostvig gave the Falcons set-point. The Golden Knights won three of the next four for their second set-point but a kill by Borelle evened the score at 27. A block by Martin and McDaniel set up Fairmont State with set-point once more as Zemba secured the win (29-27) with an ace.

Gannon won the first three points of the second set and held that margin throughout until it started to pull away midway through. The Falcons tried to narrow the difference but the Golden Knights held on for the 25-17 win.

In the third, the Golden Knights once again held a small lead for majority of it until Fairmont State was able to even the score at 23. The two sides exchanged points as the set remained tied (29-29) but an error by Gannon followed by a block from Nobbe and Ostvig capped off the set, 31-29, in favor of FSU.

Leading two sets to one, the Falcons were looking to closeout the match but the Golden Knights had other plans. Neither team held more than a three-point advantage until Gannon went on a 5-1 run to lead 23-19. Two kills by Borelle along with an ace from Zemba made it a one-point set, 23-22. The Golden Knights, however, won the final two points and forced a fifth set.

Early in the fifth set, Gannon jumped out to a six-point advantage, 8-2. Fairmont State methodically narrowed the margin to two (12-10) but Gannon won three of the final four points to take the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.

Borelle once again recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 31 digs. Ostvig and Nobbe added 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while Dangerfield tallied 32 assists. Skinn corralled 24 digs as Martin blocked five at the net.

Fairmont State (8-3) remains in Wheeling as it will face Clarion University at 1:30 p.m. before a rematch with Slippery Rock on Saturday, September 21.