INSTITUTE, W.VA. – For the second consecutive year, West Virginia State University will host the Mountain East Conference Volleyball tournament, slated to begin this Thursday at noon.

The tournament field features three teams from the South Division and five from the North. State will open up quarterfinal play with Notre Dame, the North Division's fourth seed, Thursday at 5 p.m.

All matches will be live streamed and stats will also be available. All coverage can be found at the MEC's Tournament Central page.

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
The Yellow Jackets saw five honorees in the MEC's All-Conference announcement Wednesday afternoon, including head coach Kris Kern being dubbed Coach of the Year and senior Jenna Dufresne earning Player of the Year for the second straight season in addition to her first-team status. 

Senior Grace Martin was named to the All-MEC First Team, while classmate Gabrielle Bullock was given Second Team plaudits. Sophomore Kiersten Eggleton was garnered with Honorable Mention status.

TOP-SEEDED STATE
After clinching the South Division for the second straight season, WVSU will be the top-seeded team in the South when the competition begins on Thursday. Joining them from the division will be Davis & Elkins and Charleston.

State is coming off a historic season, registering a program record for wins with a 27-3 overall record. The squad went 15-1 in league play, their only loss coming in a five-set heartbreaker with West Liberty back in mid-October.

The Yellow Jackets rank sixth in the most recent Atlantic Region rankings, and surrendered just seven sets in conference action.

The team has been led by a strong veteran group all season, including three all-MEC selections innationally-ranked Dufresne (kills, kills per set) and Martin (blocks, blocks per set), Bullock, and middle J'Lana Stone has been key to the Jackets' success in 2021.

Dufresne is in the Top 20 in the country for total kills with 401, while Martin is fourth in the nation in total blocks (133) and fifth in blocks per set (1.39).

Bullock sits just 10 kills away from eclipsing 1,000 in her career, a mark Dufresne met earlier this season.

Stone played the role of hero in WVSU's thrilling upset over Wheeling back in October, where she recorded a career-high 14 kills and was critical in the extra-point fifth set.

THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
In addition to South Division foes D&E and UC and State's first opponent Notre Dame, the Yellow Jackets will also play host to North Division champions Wheeling, second-seeded Fairmont State, the North's third seed West Liberty, and fifth-seeded Frostburg State.

Frostburg, despite finishing fifth in the North, earned a tournament berth by way of a better overall conference ledger and a head-to-head win over the South's fourth-place squad.

Thursday's winners will advance to Friday's semifinals, slated for 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. The championship match will be held Saturday at 5 p.m.

A complete bracket and schedule can be found on the MEC's Tournament Central page.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Notre Dame enters the tournament slightly above .500 at 16-15 overall and 7-9 in MEC play. Sophomore Kelsie Palmer leads the way for NDC with 277 kills, and junior Carli Derda tops the squad at the net with 99 total blocks.

Last meeting: State swept the Falcons at home during Homecoming Week and at the time had won 22 consecutive sets. Sophomore Kiersten Eggleton led the team offensively with 11 kills, while Martin posted seven total rejections. Palmer was limited to just four kills in the contest. State is 5-4 all-time against NDC, dating back to 2013.