WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's volleyball team forced five sets Friday night in its Mountain East Conference opener, but ultimately dropped a 3-2 decision to Wheeling University. WVSU falls to 4-7 on the season and 0-1 in conference action, while Wheeling improves to 6-5 overall and 1-0 in MEC play.
Maya Vilmar led the Yellow Jackets attack with 17 kills, while
Deniz Akgul added 15 and
Carmen Pérez chipped in 12. Kelsey McKeehan dished out 32 assists, and
Audrey Buck recorded 31 assists to go along with three service aces.
WVSU controlled the opening set early, jumping out to an 8-3 lead behind a pair of block assists from Vilmar and
Milena Jansson to force a Cardinals timeout. The Yellow Jackets maintained momentum out of the break, extending their advantage to 15-9 following a pair of kills from
Marcelina Pyka. Wheeling answered with a 12-5 surge to take a 21-20 lead, and despite a late push from WVSU, the Cardinals held on for a 25-23 set win.
Set two remained tight until the Yellow Jackets rattled off four straight points to claim a 12-9 edge. Out of a Wheeling timeout, WVSU took three of the next four points, capped by an Akgul and Jansson block, to take a 15-10 lead into the media timeout. The Yellow Jackets continued to stretch the margin, using consecutive kills from Pérez and Jansson to push the lead to 19-12. Following a brief Wheeling response, Pyka and Akgul delivered back-to-back kills to make it 22-15 before WVSU closed out a 25-17 set victory to level the match at 1-1.
Wheeling took an early 7-3 lead in the third set before a pair of WVSU kills cut the deficit to two. The Yellow Jackets pulled within 12-10 on consecutive kills from Vilmar, but Wheeling answered with a 5-2 spurt to extend its advantage to 17-12. WVSU responded immediately with a 5-1 run to trim the gap to 18-17, prompting a Cardinals timeout. Wheeling regrouped with a 6-3 surge to reach set point at 24-20. A Vilmar kill and a Buck service ace brought WVSU within two, but a final Cardinals kill secured the 25-22 win and a 2-1 match lead.
WVSU took control early in set four, using a 4-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. The Yellow Jackets built an 11-6 advantage behind two kills from Pérez and another from Pyka. Wheeling battled back to draw even at 21-21, but WVSU answered with three consecutive points to reach set point at 24-21. Following a Cardinals block, Vilmar closed out the set with a kill to seal a 25-22 win and force a deciding fifth set.
Wheeling scored the first three points of the fifth set before an Akgul kill and a Pérez service ace brought WVSU within 3-2. The Cardinals responded with four straight points to take a 7-2 lead. WVSU pulled within 8-5, but Wheeling closed on a 7-2 run to claim the final set 15-7 and secure the 3-2 match victory.
The Yellow Jackets return home Tuesday, Sept. 22, to host Concord University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
