CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Fairmont State volleyball team swept the University of Charleston 3-0 on Saturday at Wehrle Innovation Center, winning by set scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-10. The Falcons hit .267 for the match while holding the Golden Eagles to .057. The Falcons finished with advantages in kills, 39-30, digs, 58-53, and total blocks, 8-4.
The Falcons turned a 3-3 first-set score into a 9-3 lead with a 6-0 run, with
Natalie Zemba and
Josie Nobbe putting down kills,
Alexa Martin factoring into a block and
Zoe Ringer adding a service ace during five straight service points. The Falcons kept answering through the middle of the set, getting a Nobbe kill for 10-4, a
Kailyn Connelly block assist at 13-7 and a three-point service turn by
Belle DeVall that included kills from
Averi Martin and
Baylie Ostvig for 16-7.
Ringer's second ace pushed the margin to 20-12, and Zemba added a block on a point that made it 21-13. The Golden Eagles later scored four straight to pull within 22-18, but Connelly stopped the run with a kill and added another point for 24-19. The Falcons closed the set 25-19 on an attack error by Patrycja Majos that came off a block by
Averi Martin and Connelly.
The Falcons erased a 21-17 deficit in the second set and finished with a 25-22 win, using
Elena Thompson's serve to move in front late. In the beginning of the second, the Golden Eagles built a 9-3 lead, but the Falcons worked back into the set with a block involving Connelly and
Alexa Martin, a Connelly kill and an
Averi Martin kill before closing the gap to 12-10.
After the Golden Eagles pushed back ahead 21-17,
Belle DeVall answered with a kill, Nobbe and Connelly added kills, Thompson served an ace and Connelly's block gave the Falcons a 22-21 lead. The Golden Eagles tied it at 22-22, but Connelly put the Falcons back ahead, and two Golden Eagles attack errors closed the set for the Falcons at 25-22.
The Falcons controlled the third set from the early stages and finished it with a 25-10 win, getting points from kills, blocks, aces and Golden Eagles errors throughout the set. After the Golden Eagles tied the set at 2-2, the Falcons answered with a service error, an
Averi Martin block assist on an attack error and a Connelly kill from
Belle DeVall to move ahead 5-2.
The Falcons continued to add separation as Connelly,
Averi Martin,
Alexa Martin and Ostvig put down kills, while
Natalie Zemba's block helped push the margin to 10-4.
Ashton Henrich later served an ace during a stretch that moved the Falcons in front 16-6, and DeVall followed with an ace before
Averi Martin added consecutive kills to make it 20-7.
Ava Strange gave the Falcons set point with a kill from DeVall, and Nobbe closed the set with a kill for the 25-10 finish.
Connelly led the Falcons with nine kills, 12 points and four total blocks while hitting .471.
Belle DeVall finished with 20 assists, two service aces and eight digs. Grace Devall recorded a team-high 13 digs and added two assists. Nobbe added eight kills and seven digs.
Fairmont State (19-4, 8-0) returns to Joe Retton Arena on Tuesday, October 13 for a non-conference match against Salem University. The Dig Pink match is set to start at 6:00 p.m.
