MILLEDGEVILLE, GA. – West Virginia State Volleyball split their Saturday competition in the Georgia College Invitational, sweeping Southern Wesleyan by scores of 25-17, 25-21, and 25-22, before falling in a five-set thriller to Limestone (25-23, 24-26, 22-25, 30-28, 13-15).

MATCH 1: WVSU 3, SOUTHERN WESLEYAN 0
Junior transfer Diamond'Nique Young continued to dominate in her weekend debut, tallying 16 kills on a stellar .560 hitting percentage, and added four blocks. Classmate Kiersten Eggleton registered her second-straight double double, posting 12 kills with 15 digs, tying with libero Alex Darby for a match-high.

The Yellow Jackets started the opening stanza with force, picking up seven of the first 10 points and then using a 5-0 rally that featured bookended kills by Eggleton and back-to-back slams from Young, to build a 16-7 lead.

Another pair of kills from Young aided WVSU with four of the next five points, putting their advantage at 20-9. A Warriors miscue brought State to set point, but Southern Wesleyan then began to threaten, tallying four straight points to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 24-17. Young sealed the set with a decisive slam, putting WVSU in control with a 1-0 match lead (25-17).

After State took four of the first five points to being the second set, Southern Wesleyan presented trouble, capitalizing on a block and three Yellow Jacket miscues to take control of the frame at 10-7. WVSU quickly responded, rallying for five consecutive points to regain the lead at 12-10. A 6-0 run widened the gap, putting State with a comfortable five-point advantage at 19-12.

Again, a late surge from Southern Wesleyan presented a threat as the Warriors cut the gap to just 24-21, but a final kill by junior Natalie Beer (who also registered the set point), kept control with the Yellow Jackets at 25-21 and 2-0.

Southern Wesleyan opened the third frame with revenge, exploding to leads of 6-1 and 9-2. Back-to-back service aces from Peri Martin helped trim the deficit to just three points at 9-6, but the Warriors continued to dominate the early stages of the set, doubling their lead to 14-7.

A 6-0 rally for the Yellow Jackets evened the contest at 17-17, but Southern Wesleyan responded with three unanswered to continue to lead the set, 20-17.

The momentum returned to the black and gold for the final time with six of the next seven points, capitalizing on back-to-back ball handling errors from the Warriors to lead 23-21. After yet another SWU miscue brought State to match point, the set, match, and ultimately, sweep, was sealed after an ace from newcomer Bethany Ledford, the first of her young career.

Ledford finished with two kills, two blocks, and eight digs. Martin dished out 15 assists, and Beer tallied four kills.

MATCH 2: WVSU 2, LIMESTONE 3
It was a battle in the finale, with four Yellow Jackets posting double-digit kills in Young (17), Eggleton (16), graduate student Grace Martin (14) and junior transfer Jacklyn Simms (11). Young continued with her hot-hitting, performing at a strong .343 clip.

Eggleton achieved her third-straight double-double with 14 digs, while senior Brooke Smith also achieved one with 29 assists and 11 digs. Darby posted 32 digs, and Young tallied six blocks, including three solo.

The first stanza of State's opening finale was a tale of the ultimate comeback. Limestone broke through early, registering five consecutive points to take an 11-6 lead and continued to build their lead with a string of small runs, taking a double-digit lead advantage at 18-8.

The Yellow Jackets began to chip away at the deficit, putting up six unanswered in a sequence that featured a pair of kills by Simms, to narrow the gap to 20-14.

The Yellow Jackets continued to build their comeback, tallying another 7-0 run on a pair of back-to-back slams from Beer to trim the margin to just one point at 23-22. The run continued, after a Saints error and Darby service ace brought WVSU to set point and block by the duo of Beer and Grace Martin completed the comeback, 25-23, and hand State a 1-0 match lead.

The momentum carried into the second set, as the Yellow Jackets used a 6-0 rally to take control 7-6 and ensue a game of cat-and-mouse. The two squads traded runs and leads for the duration of the frame. The set featured 12 total ties before the Saints pulled ahead for a 26-24 victory to even the match at 1-1. 

Set 3 kept with the same fashion, with the teams reaching a stalemate at 15-15 as part of an 8-2 run for Limestone that then put the Saints in control at 20-17. WVSU tried to chip away at the lead once more, with late kills from Young and Peri Martin, but alas, Limestone took the set 25-22 and a 2-1 match lead.

The Saints again drove the momentum as the fourth set got underway, taking an 8-4 lead early and forcing State to call for a huddle, and the continued to pressure with a 12-5 lead. State began to trim the deficit, tallying six straight points to bring the score to just a one-point difference at 12-11.

The junior trio of Young, Eggleton, and Simms evened the score to 15-15 on a couple kills and a solo block, and then a slam from Young put State back on top at 16-15. The sequence was part of a 5-0 rally that pushed WVSU to a two-point advantage at 17-15, but the Saints pestered once more, reaching another tie at 17-17.

The Yellow Jackets persisted, evening the contest at 21-21 on an Eggleton kill and then again at 22-22 and 23-23, both times courtesy of Grace Martin kills. She then delivered set point on a service ace, but as with the theme of the match, Limestone responded and forced extra points after a 24-24 tie.

Young surged for State, posting slams for set points at the 25-24, 26-25, and 27-26 set points. The squads endured eight points from the 20-point mark, but Eggleton finally prevailed with back-to-back slams to keep State alive, 30-28.

Limestone reached the 8-point mark first in the finale, and then built a 12-9 advantage to really pressure the Yellow Jackets. In a déjà vu moment from the previous set, Young ignited late and registered back-to-back kills to reach the 12-12 stalemate, and then keep State alive again with a decisive kill at the 14-13 mark. WVSU was unable to fully pull off the comeback, dropping the final frame 15-13.

Peri Martin also dished out 29 assists in the contest.

KERN'S KORNER
On Southern Wesleyan
"Southern Wesleyan plays hyped when things are rolling for them. The Yellow Jackets stayed steady again and weathered a few storms."

"I'm encouraged that many young players are seeing their first college action within our framework."
 
On Limestone
"A terrific opponent! Exactly what we needed, and my players truly responded." 
UP NEXT
WVSU returns for their home opener Wednesday, August 31, hosting Kentucky State with a 6 p.m. first serve. Live stats and video will be available.