ELKINS, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University volleyball team traveled to Davis & Elkins on Tuesday night and was defeated in a closely-contested match, 3-1. 

West Virginia State drops to 2-1 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss while Davis & Elkins improves to 3-0 in league play with the win.

Junior Jenna Dufresne collected a team-high 21 points with 19 kills, two block assists, and one service ace. She also had 11 digs to boot. Freshman Peri Martin filled in at the setter position and lobbed up 35 assists. Sophomore Rachelle Madison kept opposing attacks at bay with a team-high 16 digs.

The first set was played to an even 17-apiece split. D&E was on the receiving end of the next four points to pull ahead, 21-17. WVSU fought back to within two points of the Senators, but couldn't overcome the late deficit and dropped the first set, 25-22.

The second set played out in a similar fashion. It could've gone either way when an attack error by Davis & Elkins put West Virginia State within one point of tying, 12-11. The Senators went on a 5-0 run at that point before the Yellow Jackets responded with a 5-1 run, 18-16. D&E finished off the second set, 25-19, to put the pressure on WVSU going into the third.

In the middle of the third set, Davis & Elkins scored six unanswered points to make the match seem like a foregone conclusion, 17-11. However, West Virginia State had other ideas about being swept by the Senators. The Yellow Jackets scored five unanswered to tie the set at 21-all. D&E then went two ahead before WVSU picked up the next three points, 24-23. Davis & Elkins tied the set with the next point, 24-24. Dufresne then forced a fourth set with two consecutive kills, 26-24.

The fourth set was another hard-fought battle between the two teams. The Yellow Jackets looked like they were gaining momentum when they took the lead late, 21-20. A fifth set was not in the cards, however, as the Senators smashed five kills in a row to close out the final set, 25-21.

The box score revealed minimal discrepancies between the two sides. The Senators were slightly more accurate in their attacks with a .165 hitting percentage compared to a .099 hitting percentage by the Yellow Jackets.

West Virginia State will square off against West Virginia Wesleyan at home on Friday, Feb. 12 next. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.