CHARLESTON, W.VA. – West Virginia State Volleyball continued with their red-hot Mountain East Conference play, sweeping Charleston (10-7, 3-2 MEC) Tuesday at Wehrle Innovation Center (25-23, 25-12, 29-27).
The win marks the seventh-straight victory over the county rivals, as State moves to 16-2 on the year and 5-0 in league action. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 consecutive sets after grinding out a thrilling third frame-which featured four extra match points- and improve their win streak to 11.
"Tonight was a wonderful college athletic event," head coach Kris Kern said. "I told their AD after the match, 'UC Volleyball is back'… The Yellow Jackets were ultra resilient tonight with a new lineup and responded strongly to every challenge in an extremely loud environment."
Senior Jenna Dufresne led the way for the squad, posting 15 kills. The trio of veteran Grace Martin, junior Emily Davis, and sophomore Kiersten Eggleton each added five kills. Sophomore Natalie Beer topped the team defensively with six blocks as the squad posted a season-best 21 total rejections.
The opening stanza began in favor of the Golden Eagles, who registered nine of the first 12 points, including a 4-0 run. UC continued to control the tempo, holding a lead as high as six points at 12-6, before the Yellow Jackets began to chip away, coming to within two points at 20-18 and forcing Charleston into a timeout.
State took advantage of the huddle, coming out to an Eggleton kill to force another UC timeout, and then used a block from Martin and classmate J'Lana Stone, bookended by a pair of Dufresne kills to fire and take the lead at 21-20. Back-to-back Golden Eagle errors, aided by another block from the duo of Martin and Stone, put State at set point 24-22.
WVSU pulled off the comeback with a Dufresne slam, picking up a 25-23 set score and 1-0 match lead.
State carried that momentum into the second frame, picking eight of the first 11 points and pushing UC to burn a timeout early into the set at 8-3. The Yellow Jackets continued to maintain control, holding an eight-point advantage at 13-5, and then registered another four consecutive points to go up 17-5 courtesy of a Peri Martin service ace, Dufresne kill, and a pair of UC miscues.
Another 3-0 rally, this time featuring Grace Martin with a kill and ace, added some cushion and continued to widen the gap for the Yellow Jackets, who tallied the final three points of the set to go up 2-0 in the match on a wide 25-12 set.
Charleston responded in the third frame, challenging WVSU early before the Yellow Jackets registered 10 of the next 12 points, including a five-point rally, to go up 13-5.
Eight straight points for the Golden Eagles tightened things up, as the set turned into a back-and-forth affair, with more than five ties from the 20-point mark. State rallied to tie the match once more at 27 all on a rejection from Martin and Eggleton, and then recorded match point with a Dufresne kill.
The set, and match, was sealed on a Charleston error for a 29-27 thrilling third game.
UP NEXT
State has two more MEC matchups this week, welcoming first-year member Alderson Broaddus Thursday before hosting Notre Dame College Friday, both at Walker Convocation Center. Live stats and video will be available. First serve on both days will be at 7 p.m.
