INSTITUTE, W.VA. – In front of a packed Homecoming crowd, West Virginia State Volleyball continued with its red-hot winning streak, sweeping North Division foe Notre Dame College Friday at Walker Convocation Center by scores of 25-17, 25-12, 25-16.
The Yellow Jackets move to 18-2 on the season and 7-0 in Mountain East Conference action. The team has yet to drop a set in league play, and have won 22 consecutive sets.
"Happy Homecoming to the Yellow Jackets!" head coach Kris Kern said of the victory. "The first two wins this week, we were without 20 [Gabrielle Bullock], and tonight without 6 [Jenna Dufresne]… wow!"
Bullock returned to the court Friday, tallying nine kills on a .300 hitting percentage. The squad was led by sophomore Kiersten Eggleton, who posted 11 kills on a .391 clip, also dishing out 15 assists and adding four blocks to accompany seven digs.
"'Next person up,'" Kern continued. "We preach it, and tonight, Emily Davis, Jordan West, and Rachelle Madison were great."
Davis posted a season-best nine kills and also posted four rejections at the net. Madison was outstanding at the service line, serving through multiple Yellow Jacket rallies and adding 10 digs. Senior J'Lana Stone was also impressive, hitting at a stellar .417 efficiency with six kills.
State started the contest a bit sluggish, trailing 5-1 in the early stages of the opening stanza. Three consecutive kills featuring senior Grace Martin and back-to-back slams from Bullock tied things at 7-7 and handed the Yellow Jackets some momentum.
A 4-0 run for WVSU put the squad up 11-8, a three-point margin they continued to hold through most of the remainder of the set. Up 19-16, a set of Falcon errors bookended a kill from Stone and a block from she and sophomore Natalie Beer to give State a 23-16 cushion. Notre Dame added another point, but a service ace from sophomore Peri Martin and kill from Beer handed State the first set 25-17.
The Yellow Jackets rode that momentum into the second frame, as freshman Ashlynne Davis served the squad through nine straight points, including back-to-back kills from Eggleton.
State continued to carry a wide advantage, going up 14-4 on a Madison ace, and built their lead to as high as 14 at set point, before sealing the set at 25-12 on a kill from Bullock.
The Yellow Jackets again dominated the early stages of what was ultimately the final set, going up 10-3 after a four-point rally that featured a Grace Martin ace and Davis kill.
Notre Dame began to narrow the gap, using a pair of 3-0 runs and registered eight of 10 points to come within one at 12-11. The threat was quickly stifled as State rallied for seven straight points on a run that featured a pair of kills from the duo of Grace Martin and Eggleton, to go up 20-12.
Notre Dame again tried to chip away, but State used a 4-0 run to reach match point and secured the victory on a Falcon service error.
Grace Martin was dynamic at the net, falling one block shy of her season-high, putting up seven rejections. Younger sister Peri Martin was also successful on the evening with 17 assists and 15 digs.
UP NEXT
WVSU heads back on the road, traveling to West Liberty for a Tuesday tilt. First serve is slated for 7 p.m., and live streaming and stats will be available.
