FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State volleyball defeated Salem University 3-0 on Tuesday at Joe Retton Arena, winning by set scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-18. The Falcons used a 9-0 run in the second set to move from an 11-14 deficit to a 20-14 lead. The Falcons hit .233 with 42 kills, while the Tigers hit .118 with 24 attack errors.
The Falcons answered a 21-21 tie with kills from
Alexa Martin,
Baylie Ostvig,
Natalie Zemba and Ostvig again over the final five rallies to finish the first set 25-22. Earlier, the Falcons fell into a 6-3 hole before kills by Zemba and
Elena Thompson, along with Tigers attack errors, pulled the set even and moved the home side ahead 7-6.
Zoe Ringer then served a stretch from 8-7 to 12-7 that included a
Kailyn Connelly/
Josie Nobbe block and a Connelly kill, giving the Falcons their largest verified cushion of the set. The Tigers came back through the middle and late stages, drawing even at 15-15, 16-16, 17-17 and finally 21-21, but the Falcons responded each time and closed the opener on Ostvig's third kill of the set.
The Falcons overcame a 14-11 deficit in the second set with a 9-0 run, turning it into a 25-19 win. At the start of the set, Thompson served the Falcons through three straight points for a 4-1 lead, and Connelly later followed a Ringer kill with an ace and a Zemba-Ostvig block for an 11-8 edge.
The Tigers answered with six straight points to go ahead 14-11, but
McKenzi Martin stopped the stretch with a kill before
Belle DeVall served eight straight Falcons points, a surge that included a Martin kill to tie it at 14-14, a Zemba-
Averi Martin block for a 15-14 lead and a DeVall ace. The Tigers scored the next two points to make it 20-16, but the Falcons closed behind kills from
Averi Martin, DeVall, Nobbe and Connelly, with Connelly finishing the set at 25-19.
The Falcons created early separation in the third set behind
Josie Nobbe's serve, winning four straight points from 6-3 to 10-3 with a Nobbe ace and blocks involving Connelly,
McKenzi Martin and Thompson. The Falcons kept adding to the margin through the middle of the set, getting kills from Thompson,
Alexa Martin and Connelly before
Zoe Ringer's service ace made it 20-8.
The Tigers answered late, scoring eight of nine points to cut the Falcons' lead to 22-18. The Falcons closed the set from there with a Thompson kill, a Tigers attack error and
Alexa Martin's final kill for a 25-18 finish.
Connelly led the Falcons with 10 kills on a .643 hitting percentage and added three block assists. Grace Devall recorded a team-high 24 digs.
Belle DeVall finished with a team-high 18 assists and added an ace. Thompson tallied six kills on a .375 hitting percentage with 10 digs.
Fairmont State (20-4) returns to conference play on Friday, October 16 as Glenville State University comes to Joe Retton Arena. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m.
