ELKINS, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University volleyball team won the last three sets of the match at Davis & Elkins to claim victory in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first set, 25-23, before winning the next three sets by the same scoreline.
Head Coach Kris Kern remarked on the gutsy performance of his team:
"I'm really proud of the resiliency of this team. We trailed 14-6 at one point and just wouldn't quit."
WVSU improved to 5-9 overall, 1-0 in the MEC with the win. Meanwhile, D&E fell to 6-5 on the season and 0-1 in league-play with the loss.
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Dufresne was at her best with a match-high 24 kills. She also led all players in the contest with a .250 hitting percentage and added 12 digs to her stat sheet. Junior setter Brianna Brandt made a team-high 29 assists and posted 15 digs. Sophomore Gabrielle Bullock accounted for 13.5 points, while freshman Emily Davis tallied 10.5 points in the match. Junior Devon Putnam led her team in digs with 19 on the night.
The first set was the only one that West Virginia State did not finish on top in. The Yellow Jackets were in control up until Bullock recorded a kill to put them up 21-17. The Senators then scored seven unanswered points to go up 24-21 and later get the final point needed to take the opening set.
The second set was neck-and-neck throughout and came down to the team that finished stronger. After a timeout was called by Davis & Elkins with the score deadlocked at 22-22, the Senators were able to pick up a point as the result of an attack error. That would be their last point scored in the set as the Yellow Jackets scored the next three points to take the second set, 25-23.
The third set began with D&E jumping out to a 14-6 lead. WVSU answered back with a 7-0 run in which Dufresne had three kills. The set leveled out after that and, after a timeout by Davis & Elkins, ended up in a 23-all tie. Kills by Bullock and junior Rachel Graff ensured that West Virginia State went into the fourth set with a 2-1 advantage.
The final set of the match once again came down to the wire. The Senators were in the lead, 22-21, when the Yellow Jackets surged to take three consecutive points. Bullock slammed down the match-winning kill from an assist by junior Ashton Barr.
"Our extremely difficult non-conference scheduled prepared us for this quality road win against a great opponent," said Kern.
Team statistics were even across the board. The largest difference was five more digs by WVSU.
West Virginia State will play again tomorrow in a conference clash away to West Virginia Wesleyan at 10 a.m.
