FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Fairmont State University women's volleyball team (27-5, 15-1 MEC) swept Frostburg State (10-16, 7-9 MEC) 3-0 on Thursday at Joe Retton Arena, winning 25-22, 27-25 and 25-15. The Falcons finished with 44 kills and hit .205, compared with the Bobcats' 36 kills and .120 hitting percentage.
Fairmont State changed the first set with a nine-point surge from down 13-7, moving ahead 16-13 as
Elena Thompson put down three kills and joined
Natalie Zemba on a block during the stretch. Early in the set, the Bobcats built leads of 5-1 and 11-5, but the Falcons kept finding sideouts through
Baylie Ostvig,
Averi Martin,
Kailyn Connelly and
Alexa Martin before the longer run arrived with
Belle DeVall serving.
The Falcons added to the cushion at 19-14 on an Ostvig-Zemba block and later got kills from Ostvig and
Averi Martin as the Bobcats worked back into the set. After the Bobcats closed within 23-22, Zemba's kill brought the Falcons to set point and Thompson and Zemba combined on the final block to finish a 25-22 first-set win.
The Falcons recovered from a late 24-23 deficit in the second set, getting a kill from
Belle DeVall to tie it before Thompson put the Falcons in front at 25-24. Nearly midway through the second set, the Falcons flipped an 11-10 Bobcats lead into a 15-12 advantage, with
Averi Martin starting the response and
Alexa Martin adding kills at 14-11 and 15-12.
Fairmont State later built an 18-14 edge on a
Belle DeVall service ace, but the Bobcats worked back to even the set at 19-19 and moved ahead 20-19 before Connelly helped the Falcons answer with a kill for a 21-20 lead. After the Bobcats reached set point at 24-23, the Falcons scored four of the final five points, including DeVall's tying kill, Thompson's go-ahead kill and two Bobcats errors, to finish the set 27-25.
The hosts turned an early 3-2 deficit into a 7-4 lead in the third set and kept building from there on the way to a 25-15 win. Connelly tied the set with a kill from
Belle DeVall, and
Zoe Ringer's serve helped the Falcons add points on consecutive Bobcats attack errors, including a block by
Alexa Martin and Connelly, before
McKenzi Martin's kill made it 6-3.
Thompson carried a steady attacking role through the middle of the set with kills at 8-4, 10-6, 12-6 and 20-13, while Zemba,
Averi Martin and
Alexa Martin added points as the Falcons moved ahead 19-11.
Alexa Martin's late kill started a three-point push,
Belle DeVall followed with a service ace, and after Thompson's kill brought the Falcons to set point,
Olivia Perkins closed the set with a service ace.
Thompson led the Falcons with 12 kills and added nine digs. Grace Devall recorded a team-high 15 digs and six assists.
Belle DeVall finished with 20 assists, 11 digs and two service aces. Zemba posted six kills on a .500 hitting percentage and led the team with five total blocks.
Fairmont State now turns its attention to the MEC Volleyball Championship which starts on Wednesday, November 4 from Joe Retton Arena. The Falcons will play in the 7:00 p.m. match with their opponent still to be determined.
