FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Fairmont State University women's volleyball (28-5) swept West Virginia State (12-15) 3-0 on Wednesday at Joe Retton Arena in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Championship. The Falcons hit .263 for the match while the Yellow Jackets finished at .089, including a -.095 mark in the second set.
Fairmont State led for much of the opening set and finished it with a 25-19 win, closing the set when the Yellow Jackets committed an attack error. Early in the set, the Falcons answered the first point with an
Averi Martin kill from
Belle DeVall, then moved ahead 3-1 on a Yellow Jackets setting error and an ace during
Elena Thompson's service turn.
The home team kept finding sideout points through several hitters, with Martin,
Josie Nobbe,
Kailyn Connelly,
Natalie Zemba and Thompson all recording kills as the Falcons built a 15-10 advantage. The Yellow Jackets stayed within range, but the Falcons pushed the margin back out with a Nobbe kill, two opponent attack errors and a block by
Alexa Martin and Connelly to make it 19-14. Thompson added late kills at 21-16 and 24-18, while
Alexa Martin and the block of
Averi Martin and Zemba helped the Falcons reach set point before taking the opener.
The Falcons created separation in the second set by winning seven of eight rallies from a 5-4 edge to a 12-5 lead, with
Alexa Martin recording four kills and
Zoe Ringer assisting each of them during the stretch. At the start of the second, Fairmont State scored the set's first two points, including a block by Zemba and
Averi Martin, and got early kills from Nobbe and Zemba while the Yellow Jackets worked back within 5-4.
After that surge, the Yellow Jackets cut the score to 13-8, but the Falcons answered with consecutive points on a Yellow Jackets error, a Zemba kill from
Averi Martin and an
Averi Martin kill from
Belle DeVall for a 16-8 advantage. The Falcons kept building late, getting a Connelly kill from
Belle DeVall to make it 21-10, an
Alexa Martin block to reach 23-11 and another Yellow Jackets error to move to 24-11. Connelly closed the set with a kill from Ringer after a Yellow Jackets point, giving the Falcons a 25-12 set win.
Fairmont State finished the third set by converting set point at 24-23, with Zemba putting down a kill from
Belle DeVall to close a 25-23 set. Earlier, the Falcons opened with the first three points, including an
Elena Thompson kill and a block by Zemba and
Averi Martin, then pushed ahead 8-3 on a Ringer service ace.
The Falcons continued to find points through Connelly,
Alexa Martin and Thompson, carrying leads of 16-11 and 21-16 before the Yellow Jackets scored five straight to tie the set at 21-21.
Alexa Martin stopped that run with a kill from Ringer, and after the teams traded points, Thompson's kill and another Zemba-Martin block brought the Falcons to set point before Zemba finished it.
Connelly led the Falcons with 13 kills while hitting .588 and adding three blocks. Grace Devall finished with 24 digs and added five assists. Ringer recorded 19 assists, two digs and one service ace. Zemba totaled six blocks and added five kills.
Fairmont State will now face Glenville State University in the semifinals on Thursday, November 12 in Joe Retton Arena. Start time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
