INSITITUTE, W.Va. – After sweeping Concord on Friday and Glenville State on Saturday at the Walker Convocation Center, the West Virginia State University volleyball team maintained its perfect record in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) through five matches this season. Presently, the only other team without a loss in the MEC is nationally-ranked No. 21 Wheeling. The Yellow Jackets have only dropped two sets during their current win streak which now stands at seven games.

Following the pair of wins against CU and GSC, WVSU improved to 11-9 overall and 5-0 in league-play. CU (5-12, 2-3 MEC) dropped to eighth place in the conference standings after taking a loss from Charleston on Saturday. GSC (2-15, 0-5 MEC) fell to the bottom of the league table with the loss to West Virginia State.

Match 1 (West Virginia State vs. Concord)

The Yellow Jackets progressively defeated the Mountain Lions in three straight sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-15) on Friday night. Concord nearly rallied back in the first set, but couldn't finish the job. The next two sets were unquestioningly won by West Virginia State.

Sophomores Gabrielle Thompson and J'Lana Stone were incredibly accurate when attacking in the match. Stone recorded a .429 hitting percentage on her way to a game-high 11.5 points (9 K, 1 BS, 3 BA). Meanwhile, Thompson hit .500 with eight kills and just two errors on 12 total attempts (8-2=6, 6/12=.500). Junior setter Brianna Brandt led all players in the contest in both assists (27) and digs (13).

The first set was a typical seesaw battle between the two sides. The Yellow Jackets found themselves with a 22-17 advantage when a series of errors allowed Concord to suddenly seize the lead, 23-22. A kill by outside hitter Gabrielle Bullock leveled the set and two attack errors by the Mountain Lions essentially gave the opening set to WVSU.

The second and third sets were undoubtedly claimed by West Virginia State. A 5-0 run early in the second set along with a 4-0 run late in the same set secured a comfortable margin of victory for the Yellow Jackets. A 14-2 run by WVSU in the middle of the third set left Concord discouraged and defeated.

West Virginia State's hitting percentage improved in each successive set (.104-.267-.357) as margin of victory increased (2 pts.-7 pts.-10 pts.).

Match 2 (West Virginia State vs. Glenville State)

Simply put, the Saturday morning matchup between the Yellow Jackets and the Pioneers was not even close. West Virginia State thumped Glenville State in impressive fashion over three sets (25-6, 25-8, 25-14). Throughout the three-set thrashing of GSC, WVSU only trailed once when Glenville State went up, 1-0, to begin the second set.

The Pioneers were unable to defend the attacking threat posed by the dominant Yellow Jackets: six West Virginia State players finished with .500 hitting percentages or better. Glenville State was also unable to put a ball past WVSU's stalwart defense. As a team, the Yellow Jackets registered 22 block assists and one block solo by the conclusion of the match.

West Virginia State will be looking to carry its momentum over from the previous two matches into the next two matches. The Yellow Jackets go up against Fairmont State (8-10, 1-4 MEC) tomorrow at 7 p.m. before an 11 a.m. contest versus Frostburg State (8-8, 1-4 MEC) on Saturday. Both are home games to be played inside the immaculate Walker Convocation Center.