Box Score When they won the final point in front of a boisterous crowd of about 150 fans many of the Yellow Jacket players dropped to the court in relief.
They had just finished playing nine tough sets and almost four hours of high instensity volleyball action in a 20-hour period.
Relieved but not exhausted even after playing four hard sets Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets had plenty of energy left to turn in their best performance in the final set of their two-day marathon by defeating visiting UVa-Wise 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25, and 15-7 Saturday afternoon.
"They work really hard on conditioning," WVSU Head Coach
Shannon Gerencir said of her players. "I think (the Cavaliers) were tired."
It was Senior Day for a trio of players with
Hayley Kirby,
Anneelise Albrecht, and
Mattie Best victorious in their final home match.
Each played an important role in the win.
Kirby finished with 15 kills and 17 digs, Albrecht seven kills along with 15 digs and 51 assists, and Best with 11 digs.
"Hayley really stepped up," Gerencir said. "They really wanted to win today."
After the Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead in the final set the Jackets scored three straight and were never really challenged after that.
Cassie Ford served for six straight points, three won on kills by freshman
Rebekah Baldwin, to put WVSU ahead 9-3.
The final point came off a dig from Kirby, a set from Albrecht, and kill down the line from
Karee Vaughn.
"They just really put everything together in the fifth," Gerencir said. "They did a really good job."