FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Fairmont State volleyball team (24-5, 12-1 MEC) defeated Davis & Elkins (0-27, 0-13 MEC) 3-0 on Monday at Joe Retton Arena, winning by set scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-19. The Falcons held the Senators to a .062 hitting percentage and finished with an 11-6 advantage in total blocks.
The Falcons held off a late Senators push in the first set, answering a 23-23 tie with a
Natalie Zemba kill from
Zoe Ringer and an
Averi Martin kill from
Belle DeVall to finish a 25-23 win. Earlier, after the Senators moved ahead 7-6, the Falcons won six straight points, including an
Alexa Martin kill from Ringer, a block by
Alexa Martin and
Kailyn Connelly, a
Josie Nobbe ace and a Connelly kill from Ringer.
The Senators worked back within 13-12, but the Falcons kept responding with kills from Zemba and Nobbe before Nobbe added consecutive finishes that pushed the home side to 20-15. The Falcons reached 23-19 on a Ringer kill from
McKenzi Martin, then absorbed a four-point Senators run before closing the set with the final two points.
The Falcons created the set's separation with a four-point service stretch by Ringer, moving from 14-11 to 18-11 on a Senators attack error, an
Alexa Martin kill, a block by Martin and Zemba, and a Nobbe kill. The Falcons recovered from a 7-6 deficit as
Alexa Martin tied the set,
Averi Martin put the home side in front, and Connelly and Nobbe added kills during the push to 12-8.
The Senators trimmed the margin at times, including a service ace that made it 20-16, but the Falcons answered with front-row points from Zemba, Martin and Connelly and a
Belle DeVall service ace.
Averi Martin gave the Falcons set point with a kill, and a Senators attack error closed the 25-19 set for the Falcons.
The Falcons turned a 14-12 deficit into a 17-15 lead in the third set, with
Averi Martin, Nobbe and Connelly delivering kills before Nobbe and Zemba combined on a block. Early in the set, the Falcons won seven of eight rallies to move from 1-2 to 8-3, getting a Grace Devall ace, kills from Nobbe and Martin, and a Nobbe-Zemba block in that stretch.
The Senators worked back to an 11-10 lead and later went ahead 14-12, but the Falcons answered and continued to build after the set was tied at 15. Zemba, Martin, Nobbe and
Alexa Martin were part of late blocking points, Zemba added a kill, and
Baylie Ostvig supplied three late kills as the Falcons closed out the set 25-19.
Nobbe led the Falcons with 14 kills and 17 points, adding six digs, one ace and four blocks. Grace Devall recorded 20 digs and added two assists and an ace. Zemba posted a team-high seven blocks and finished with four kills.
Averi Martin added eight kills while hitting .333.
Fairmont State travels for its next two matches starting on Friday, October 30 at West Liberty University. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m.
