FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State University captured the 2026 Mountain East Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship on Friday night, defeating Wheeling, 3-2, inside Joe Retton Arena. The Falcons finished with 56 kills, a .189 hitting percentage, 14 total blocks and seven service aces, while the Cardinals hit .134.
After Wheeling scored first, Fairmont State answered with seven straight points to move ahead 7-1, with
Elena Thompson serving the final six points of the burst. The run included back-to-back kills by
Josie Nobbe, a kill by
Averi Martin, Thompson's service ace and consecutive blocks involving
Natalie Zemba and
Averi Martin.
The Falcons kept adding separation through the middle of the set, getting kills from Nobbe,
Kailyn Connelly,
Alexa Martin and Thompson while
Zoe Ringer helped direct the attack after entering. Nobbe added two late kills, and the Falcons closed the set with four straight points on Ringer's serve, finishing the opening set with a 25-9 win.
Fairmont State broke open the second set with seven straight points from 16-13 to 23-13, beginning with a Thompson kill and continuing through her service turn, which included two aces and a block by Zemba and
Averi Martin. Earlier, the Falcons started with three straight points before the Cardinals answered and moved ahead 10-7.
The Falcons worked back through a Connelly kill, a
Janai Turner ace and a block by
Alexa Martin and Connelly, then used
Olivia Perkins' service turn to move from 11-11 to 15-11 with an ace and a Thompson-Zemba block in the stretch. After the late surge, Nobbe put the Falcons at set point and Connelly finished the 25-14 set win off an assist from
Belle DeVall.
With the third the set at 1-1, the Cardinals won the next four points to move ahead 5-1, and the Falcons later got kills from Nobbe and Connelly while trying to work back into the set. The Cardinals added another five-point stretch from 8-5 to 13-5, but the Falcons continued to get production from Connelly and Zemba, with Ringer assisting multiple kills.
The Falcons also scored on blocks by Thompson and Zemba, Connelly and
Averi Martin, and Connelly alone before Zemba put down the team's final point at 24-13. Camryn Matus closed the set for the Cardinals with a kill for the 25-13 finish.
Fairmont State built early control in the fourth set, but the Cardinals erased a 15-12 deficit with four straight points and later used another four-point push to move ahead 21-17 before taking the set 25-20. Early in the set, after trailing 4-2, the Falcons answered with kills from
Averi Martin,
Alexa Martin, Thompson and Connelly, along with a Thompson service ace, to move in front 7-5.
The Falcons stretched the margin to 11-6 with
Kelsea Vandine serving, as
Alexa Martin put down two kills around a Cardinals attack error, and the teams traded points until a Zemba kill made it 14-11 and another Cardinals error made it 15-12. The Cardinals' late surge put the Falcons behind, though a Cardinals attack error and Zemba's block brought the Falcons back to 22-19 before the Cardinals closed the set.
In the fifth and final set, Fairmont State opened with two Nobbe kills and an
Averi Martin kill to take a 3-0 lead. After the Cardinals got within 3-1, Martin added another kill and Turner served an ace to push the Falcons ahead 5-1, and the Falcons later moved in front 8-3 on a Connelly kill.
The Cardinals cut the score to 8-6 and later to 12-10, but the Falcons answered each time, first with a Nobbe kill that made it 10-6 and then with a Thompson kill for a 13-10 edge. Nobbe put the Falcons at set point with a kill, and Thompson finished the set with another kill off a
Belle DeVall assist.
Nobbe led the Falcons with 18 kills and 18.5 points while adding seven digs. Grace Devall recorded a team-high 21 digs and added three assists. Thompson finished with eight kills, four service aces and 17 digs. Zemba posted eight total blocks, including seven block assists, and added five kills.
With the victory, Fairmont State earns the MEC's automatic qualifying bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. The NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship selection show is scheduled for Sunday, November 15 at 10:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on
NCAA.com.
