INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Volleyball emerged victorious in the WVSU Invitational Friday, picking up sweeps over IUP (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) and St. Augustine's (25-10, 25-21, 25-10) at the Walker Convocation Center.

The Yellow Jackets improve to 9-2 on the season, and have dropped just seven sets this fall.

Senior stalwart Jenna Dufresne collected 28 kills on the day and classmate Grace Martin added 11 blocks. Dufresne turned in a double-double against IUP, tallying 21 digs to accompany 19 kills.

MATCH 1: WVSU 3, IUP 0
The State momentum started early, going up 11-5 on the Crimson Hawks to take control of the opening stanza. WVSU continued to run the tempo, building a 10-point lead at 22-12 before IUP responded with nine consecutive points to come within just one point at 22-21.

A kill by senior Gabrielle Bullock added cushion and put State up 23-21, and then a block by the sophomore duo of Natalie Beer and Kiersten Eggleton set WVSU up for match point, where a IUP miscue handed the Yellow Jackets the first set.

The second set started as a close-knit contest, with the Crimson Hawks holding the slight advantage with a two-to-three point lead as late 15-12. The Yellow Jackets kept chipping away, eventually breaking through on a 4-0 run after kills by Beer and Bullock and a pair of blocks from the two. With the lead at 17-16, IUP stole back the momentum, going up 20-18 off three unanswered.

After a timeout from Coach Kern to regroup, State emerged from the huddle to win seven of the final nine points, including five straight to secure the set on back-to-back blocks from Martin.

In near repeated fashion of the second frame, the third set started again as a back-and-forth affair. The two squads were knotted up at the 12-12 mark. IUP came within one at 15-14 before State went on a 6-0 rally, featuring two service aces from yet another sophomore in Peri Martin, to climb up to a 21-14 advantage.

The Hawks threated with three straight points to arrive at 23-18, but a Dufresne kill and block by the duo of Beer and senior J'Lana Stone sealed the set for the Yellow Jackets.

The seven blocks by Beer was a career-best, including two solo rejections.

MATCH 2: WVSU 3, SAU 0
Junior Brooke Smith recorded a career-high 23 assists in the finale, and classmate Rachelle Madison topped the squad with 15 digs. The offense was paced by Dufresne's nine kills, while Bullock added eight.

The opening set was a surge for State, as the squad tallied 18 of the first 24 points, including a 6-0 run early to build a 8-1 lead. Leading 23-6 in the first frame, SAU rallied for four of the next five points to keep things interesting before ultimately succumbing to the Yellow Jackets 25-10.

After a closely contested Set 2 which featured many collegiate debuts, the Yellow Jackets battled to emerge 25-21.

Looking to start things off strong, State took the first five points in Set 3 on an Eggleton ace, SAU error, back-to-back slams from Dufresne, and a kill from Stone.

The Yellow Jackets continued to maintain control, building a seven-point lead at 12-5. After a pair of kills from Bullock and Dusfresne sandwiched a solo block from freshman Allyson Coriell- the first of her career- put State up 15-6, the squad continued to cruise, picking up the 10 of the final 14 points.

WVSU jumped in the driver's seat, going on a 7-0 run- including a surge from Bullock with three kills- to complete the sweep and perfect afternoon.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets will take a week off as they prepare for Mountain East Conference play, opening league action with Concord Tuesday, Sept. 28 at Walker.