INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 Mountain East Conference match to Concord University Tuesday night. Carmen Pérez led the Yellow Jackets with 11 kills and 15 digs, while Lilly Adkins posted 25 digs. WVSU falls to 4-8 on the season and 0-2 in MEC action, while the Mountain Lions improve to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Neither team established a large margin early in the opening set, with Concord holding the largest lead at 13-10. A kill by Deniz Akgul and a service ace by Audrey Buck brought WVSU within 13-12 before Concord responded with four straight points to build a 17-12 advantage. The Concord lead reached 21-14 before Inka Oksanen delivered a kill, but the Mountain Lions scored the final four points to secure a 25-15 set victory.
Concord took an early 7-4 lead in the second set before WVSU rallied to tie the score at 11-11 and claim a 13-11 advantage following consecutive Concord attack errors. Kills from Milena Jansson and Daneya Morgan pushed the WVSU lead to 18-15 before Concord trimmed the gap to 19-18.
Following a Concord service error, WVSU scored three unanswered points to take a 23-18 lead. The Yellow Jackets reached set point on a Pérez kill before Concord answered with three straight to make it 24-21. WVSU closed out the 25-21 set victory on a Mountain Lions service error to level the match at 1-1.
WVSU built an early 8-4 lead in the third set before Concord pulled within 10-7. The Yellow Jackets answered by taking five of the next six points—highlighted by two Pérez kills and a Kelsey McKeehan service ace—to extend the margin to 15-8. Concord rallied to take a 23-22 lead before WVSU tied the set at 24-24, but the Mountain Lions scored three of the final four points to claim a 27-25 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
Concord jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set, with WVSU's early point coming on a Pérez and Ahaziah Smith block. After the deficit reached 10-3, the Yellow Jackets stormed back with four straight points to pull within 10-7 before cutting the margin to 13-12 on another Pérez kill. Concord answered with a 3-0 run before a Maya Vilmar kill made it 16-13. WVSU pulled within 22-18 late, but Concord held on for a 25-18 set victory to close out the 3-1 match win.
WVSU returns to action Friday when it travels to face Glenville State University. First serve from Glenville is set for 7 p.m. Following Friday's match, the Yellow Jackets begin a five-match homestand.
