Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

West Virginia State University Athletics

Navigation stripe
VB22 Davis
Photo: Todd Griffith
1
West Virginia St. WVSt 20-3,7-2 MEC
3
Winner Wheeling WHL 15-7,8-1 MEC
West Virginia St. WVSt
20-3,7-2 MEC
1
Final
3
Wheeling WHL
15-7,8-1 MEC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 14 23 25 23 (1)
Wheeling WHL 25 25 23 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

State falls to Wheeling in four sets

WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University volleyball team (20-3, 7-2 MEC) was defeated by Wheeling (15-7, 8-1 MEC) by a final score of 3-1 at the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first and second sets (25-14, 25-23) before beating the Cardinals in the third set (25-23) and getting bested in the fourth set (25-23).

Graduate student Grace Martin was a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the net with a career-high 12 total blocks, including two solo blocks. Juniors Alex Darby and Natalie Beer led the WVSU attack with 11 kills each. Classmate Kiersten Eggleton lobbed up a team-high 26 assists with 11 digs and was two kills shy of another triple-double.

The first set was the only lopsided set of the match. Wheeling scored 10 unanswered points to go up 17-5 and fend off any chance of a comeback for State. Before long, the Cardinals were up 24-11 with the set in hand. A kill by Beer, a block solo by Diamond'Nique Young, and a kill by Darby in succession showed that the Yellow Jackets still had some fight left in them. However, the next point went to Wheeling with a kill by Tylah Yeomans to end set one, 25-14.

The Cardinals then took the early lead, 11-6, in the second set. WVSU responded by taking the next four points to cut the deficit to one, 11-10. Another Darby kill started the short spurt. Martin and Beer then combined for two blocks before Martin made a solo block.

The Yellow Jackets trailed Wheeling closely for the rest of the set two until they eventually caught up at 22-all. A pair of kills by Beer and Jacklyn Simms followed by an attack error by the Cardinals leveled the score. Kills were then traded by the two teams before Yeomans registered back-to-back kills to win the set for her team, 25-23.

In the third set, State took the early lead, 9-5, before Wheeling roared back with five-straight points to go ahead by one, 10-9. A couple of rallies later, WVSU went on a dominant 7-1 run to regain momentum and the lead, 17-12.

The Cardinals scored the next four consecutive points to pull back within one, 17-16. They then went on another 4-0 run later in set three to go up by one, 22-21, and threaten to sweep the Yellow Jackets. State did not let that happen by slamming down three-consecutive kills, two by Beer and one by Darby, to seize a 24-22 advantage. Wheeling picked up the next point with a kill before both Martin and Darby leaped up together for the set-clinching block, 25-23.

The fourth set was another seesaw affair with multiple momentum shifts. The Cardinals went up 7-3 with a 4-0 run before the Yellow Jackets responded with their own 4-0 run to tie it at 7-apiece. Wheeling then gradually started to pull away by scoring points at a 2:1 ratio, for the most part, and ended up with a 22-17 lead over WVSU. 

State came back to within one point, 22-21, of the Cardinals by scoring four unanswered near the end of set four. Martin led off with a kill before Young and Beer went up for a block. SIdney Foster then recorded back-to-back kills to finish off the run. Points were traded back-and-forth for the remainder of the final set until the score reached 25-23 in favor of Wheeling.

West Virginia State hit well in each set except for the first. The Yellow Jackets registered a -0.043 hitting percentage in set one. 

WVSU will return to Institute to face Concord (6-19, 0-9 MEC) on Tuesday, Oct. 18 next. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

 
Print Friendly Version