RALEIGH, N.C. – West Virginia State Volleyball continued its early-season dominance Tuesday, picking up a pair of sweeps in Raleigh at the Emery Gymnasium on the campus of North Carolina Central. WVSU took down St. Augustine's by scores of 25-6, 25-14, and 25-13, and defeated Shaw 25-12, 25-14, 25-19.

The Yellow Jackets have won 15 straight sets and move to 5-0 on the year.

Senior Jenna Dufresne was dynamic, tallying 29 total kills on the day and hitting at an above .500 hitting efficiency in the finale with Shaw. Classmate Gabrielle Bullock was also impressive, finishing the afternoon with 20 kills and recorded a team-high 15 digs against Shaw.

Fellow veteran Grace Martin was a force at the net, pulling in eight blocks across the two contests.

MATCH 1: WVSU 3, ST. AUGUSTINE'S 0
State turned in a stellar .443 hitting efficiency, with Dufresne and Bullock each recording double-digit kills at 13 and 12, respectively. Bullock's .524 clip was the fourth-highest of her career.

The Yellow Jackets dominated in the opening stanza, registering the first six points of the set and finishing with a 19-point lead at 25-6.  

SAU kept things closer in the second frame, coming within two points at 9-7 before WVSU tallied four straight points, including kills by Bullock and Dufresne, to make it 13-7.

State continued to maintain a steady lead, going up 17-10 after a block from another pair of seniors in duo Grace Martin and J'Lana Stone, and finished the set 25-14. Bullock slammed four kills in the set, hitting at a .375 percentage.

The Falcons pressured early in what was ultimately the final frame, leading at the 5-4 mark. A 4-0 run put the Yellow Jackets back in control at 8-5 after a SAU attack error, and they never looked back, taking the final five points of the contest on a pair of aces and a kill from sophomore setter Peri Martin.

MATCH 2: WVSU 3, SHAW 0
Dufresne continued her hot hitting, posting 16 kills on a .519 percentage while adding 12 digs.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair, as the opening set saw six ties by the 7-7 mark. State then took charge, tallying three consecutive points after a Bear miscue, an ace from junior Rachelle Madison, and kill from Grace Martin.

Up 10-7, the Bears continued to claw, coming within one at 10-9 after a WVSU attack error. The Yellow Jackets surged, registering seven of the next eight points, including back-to-back aces from sophomore Kiersten Eggleton, sandwiched between Dufresne kills.

State finished the frame on a 8-0 run, with another pair of aces- this time from Grace Martin- and sealing the set at 25-12 on a Dufresne kill.

The second set began in similar fashion, with the Bears trailing by just one point at 8-9, before State won the next five consecutive points- again courtesy of a Madison ace and this time, it was Bullock with a pair of kills to put the Yellow Jackets up 15-9 and eventually grew their lead to 10 points at 19-9 after an Eggleton kill.

Bullock secured the final point of the set for a 25-14 Set 2, putting WVSU in the driver's seat for what was ultimately the final frame.

The Bears threatened late in Set 3, narrowing the Yellow Jacket's lead to just three points at 19-16, but a burst of power from Dufresne, recording three kills in the final seven points, gave State the sweep at 25-19.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets continue their road trip, traveling to Owensboro, Ky., for the Kentucky Wesleyan Invite. The squad will rematch with Maryville, and also face Missouri Western State, Lee University, and Missouri Southern in a set of Friday-Saturday matches.