BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — West Virginia State powered into the Mountain East Conference semifinals on Thursday night, defeating Fairmont State 3–1 inside the Rockefeller Center to help complete a full quarterfinal sweep for the MEC South Division. The Yellow Jackets won 25–23, 25–21, 17–25, 25–22, earning their 16th victory of the season and joining Charleston, West Virginia Wesleyan and Concord in advancing to an all-South semifinal round.

Senior middle blocker Nicole Gartner Custodio delivered 17 kills on .325 hitting, adding five total blocks and 20 points to lead State on both sides of the net. Alyssa Hill matched her with 17 kills, hitting .333 with three block assists. Carmen Perez posted 15 kills and 18 digs, turning in one of her strongest all-around performances of the year.

Setter Kelsey McKeehan fueled the offense with 41 assists, 16 digs, two aces and a block assist. Lilly Adkins anchored the back row with a team-best 14 digs, while Giatta Iquinto added six kills and nine digs.
As a team, WVSU finished with 60 kills, 57 assists, 86 digs, seven total blocks and a .201 hitting percentage across the four sets. Fairmont State, which hit .228, was led by Joey Borelle's 19 kills and 18 digs.

Set 1 — WVSU 25, Fairmont State 23

State opened fast, jumping ahead 5–1 with early kills from Hill, Iquinto and Perez following a block touch by Custodio and Iquinto on the opening rally. Fairmont responded with a 6–0 run sparked by Belle DeVall and Joey Borelle to tie the set at 7–7, then pushed ahead 15–12 after a string of points from Nobbe and Zemba. WVSU steadied behind Perez and Hill, pulling even at 15–15 and again at 17–17. From there, the teams traded blows until clutch late defense and a Custodio kill put State up 24–22. After Borelle extended the frame, Custodio buried her fourth kill of the set to close out the 25–23 win.

Set 2 — WVSU 25, Fairmont State 21

The second set opened evenly, trading points to a 6–6 tie before WVSU began to separate behind kills from Custodio, Hill and Perez. A service ace from McKeehan capped a 4–0 burst that pushed the lead to 10–6, and another surge—highlighted by a Hill kill and an Iquinto finish—extended the margin to 14–9. Fairmont rallied to cut the deficit to 20–17 behind Borelle and Nobbe, but WVSU answered each time. Hill scored her fifth kill of the set, Custodio added another, and Perez brought the Jackets to set point. Custodio ended it 25–21 with her third kill of the frame, giving State a 2–0 match lead.

Set 3 — Fairmont State 25, WVSU 17

Fairmont seized momentum early in the third, turning a 1–1 start into a 4–1 lead behind kills from McKenzi Martin and a service ace from Borelle. WVSU briefly stabilized with swings from Custodio and Perez, tying the set at 6–6, but Fairmont immediately countered with a three-point burst to take a 9–6 edge. After Hill pulled State within 10–9, the Falcons broke the frame open with a dominant run—five straight points sparked by Martin, Nobbe, and two attack errors forced by the Fairmont block—stretching the lead to 14–9. The Falcons continued to roll, extending the margin to 19–11 and later 23–17 before Nobbe and Borelle closed the set with back-to-back kills.

Set 4 — WVSU 25, Fairmont State 22

WVSU came out firing in the fourth, with Hill ripping three early kills to push State ahead 3–1. Fairmont countered quickly, tying the score at 4–4 and again at 5–5 before the Jackets earned a small cushion behind a Perez kill and a block from McKeehan and Custodio. The Falcons surged back to tie it at 7–7, then reclaimed the lead at 10–9 and 12–11 thanks to kills from Zemba, Martin and Nobbe. State responded with a three-point run featuring kills from Custodio, Perez and Iquinto to move in front 14–13, but Fairmont tied it once more at 15–15 after a WVSU service error.

From there, the Yellow Jackets seized total control. With Sydney "Bailee" Smith on the service line, WVSU flipped a 19–16 deficit into a 23–19 lead, stringing together a seven-point burst fueled by steady serving and back-to-back attack errors forced by the State block. Fairmont trimmed the margin to 22–20 and later 24–22 behind late kills from Alexa Martin and Natalie Zemba, but Custodio hammered the match-clinching kill on the right side to close out the 25–22 win and send State to Saturday's semifinal.

Quarterfinal Round — South Division Sweep

All four MEC South Division teams advanced on Thursday, eliminating every North Division opponent in a complete 4–0 sweep:
    •    (2S) Charleston def. (3N) Wheeling, 3–2 — 22–25, 23–25, 25–21, 25–12, 15–12
    •    (4S) Concord def. (1N) West Liberty, 3–2 — 25–21, 26–24, 21–25, 18–25, 17–15
    •    (1S) WV Wesleyan def. (4N) Glenville State, 3–1 — 25–23, 26–28, 25–22, 25–20
    •    (3S) West Virginia State def. (2N) Fairmont State, 3–1 — 25–23, 25–21, 17–25, 25–22

It marks the first time in MEC Volleyball Tournament history that every semifinalist comes from the same division.

Up Next

West Virginia State advances to the MEC Semifinals and will face top-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Rockefeller Center in Buckhannon.