ELKINS, W. VA. – West Virginia State Volleyball recorded their third consecutive conference sweep Tuesday, defeating Mountain East Conference foe Davis & Elkins 3-0 at McConnell Center.
The Yellow Jackets have now won 10 consecutive sets, and have surrendered just eight sets on the season as they improve to 14-2 on the year and remain perfect in MEC play.
Senior and current MEC Offensive Player of the Week Jenna Dufresne led the squad with 10 kills, aided by classmate Grace Martin's eight on a stellar .571 hitting efficiency. Martin also had four blocks.
Sophomore Alex Darby recorded 18 digs, and fellow second-year Kiersten Eggleton dished out a team-best 17 assists.
The opening stanza began as a back-and-forth affair before State used nine consecutive points, including three Grace Martin service aces, to pull ahead and build a 15-6 lead. Three straight Senator miscues added some cushion for the Yellow Jackets, putting WVSU ahead by 10 at 19-9.
Davis and Elkins threatened with three straight kills late in the frame and forced Kern and State to call for a huddle. The regroup proved beneficial as the squad turned in a 3-0 rally courtesy of a J'Lana Stone kill, a block by Dufresne and Martin, and a service ace from junior Rachelle Madison to go up 23-14.
Another Grace Martin kill put WVSU at set point, and then the squad picked up the match lead after a D&E miscue gave State the 25-18 score.
The second set was a game of cat-and-mouse late as the two squads battled to a 23-23 stalemate, enduring eight total ties in the frame. Back-to-back errors from Davis & Elkins handed the Yellow Jackets the second set 25-23 and the 2-0 match lead.
The third set was gritty early until State built a five-point lead at 14-9 after a kill from senior Gabrielle Bullock. The squad kept the five-point margin, with a Natalie Beer kill at 15-10 and a Stone slam at 17-12.
The Yellow Jackets secured four of the next six points, including a kill from Eggleton and Martin, to reach a 20-13 mark, but the Senators kept things interesting with four straight points to narrow the margin to 21-18.
A block by Beer and D&E error brought State to match point, and after a pair of kills from Senator leader Macie Magallon, a Beer kill handed WVSU their third consecutive conference sweep at 25-21.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets return to Walker Convocation Center Friday, hosting West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday, October 8. First serve is slated for 7 p.m., and the squad will celebrate senior night.
