PITTSBURGH – The West Virginia State University women's volleyball team closed the weekend with a 3-0 victory at Point Park University Saturday afternoon. Maya Vilmar led the Yellow Jackets with 12 kills and six digs, while Deniz Akgul added 10 kills and Lilly Adkins logged 14 digs. Kelsey Mckeehan (22) and Audrey Buck (19) led WVSU in assists.
WVSU improves to 10-10 on the season with a 6-4 record in Mountain East Conference play, while Point Park falls to 6-14 overall and 3-7 in MEC action.
The Yellow Jackets took an early 8-2 lead behind a service ace from Buck and kills by Vilmar and Inka Oksanen. The Pioneers rallied to within 13-11 before kills by Vilmar and Akgul pushed the WVSU advantage to 15-11. Following a timeout, WVSU scored five of the next six points—including another Buck service ace—to extend the lead to 20-12.
Point Park called a timeout after the WVSU lead reached 23-15 on a Marcelina Pyka kill. The Pioneers answered with two consecutive points before Oksanen recorded a kill to give the Yellow Jackets set point at 24-17. Akgul closed the set with her fifth kill of the match to secure the victory for WVSU.
Mckeehan served to start the second set, firing back-to-back aces as the Yellow Jackets scored the first four points and eventually built a 9-2 lead entering a Point Park timeout. The Pioneers rallied to trim the deficit to six, but WVSU maintained control and closed the set on a 7-2 run to win 25-14 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Point Park held an early 5-3 lead in the third frame before WVSU responded with five unanswered points to take an 8-5 advantage. Leading 13-11, the Yellow Jackets scored seven of the next eight points to build a 20-12 margin into a Point Park timeout. WVSU extended its lead to 23-15 following a combined block by Oksanen and Pyka to force another Pioneers stoppage.
A 6-0 run by the Pioneers trimmed the margin to 23-21 before a Point Park service error gave WVSU match point at 24-21. Point Park saved one match point with a kill before Vilmar sealed the set 25-22 and the 3-0 match sweep with a kill.
The Yellow Jackets travel to face Concord University Tuesday night before hosting West Liberty University on Friday at 7 p.m.
