Women's Volleyball | 10/27/2017 9:37:00 PM
Box Score
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – A gritty comeback effort by the West Liberty University volleyball team fell just short here Friday night as Fairmont State escaped with a 3-2 win in a Mountain East Conference thriller at the ASRC.
Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers (16-11, 7-5) fell behind early as the visiting Falcons (17-7, 8-2) grabbed the upper hand with a 25-17 romp in the opener. Fairmont tightened the screws in the second set, rallying from a 23-21 deficit to steal a 25-23 win.
West Liberty answered with a hard-fought 25-23 victory in the third set to stay alive and then forced the match into a decisive fifth set by gutting out another 25-23 win.
The fifth set was close throughout with neither team leading by more than two points at any juncture. The final tie of the night came at 12-12 and the Falcons scored three of the final four points to take the match.
The Leonard sisters had a big night for the hosts.
Amanda Leonard led the Black and Gold with 14 kills while
Stephanie Leonard stuffed the stat sheet with 12 kills, 12 digs, 4 blocks and a service ace.
Olivia Baumhoer and
Raimey Benson added 12 and 9 kills, respectively, while
Caitlin Clarke finished with 7 kills and 2 blocks.
Sydney Scherer also impressed with 5 kills, 3 aces and 4 blocks – including the 500th block of her Hilltopper career.
Kendall Souder and
Renee Lemke were charted with 27 and 25 assists, respectively, while
Kailee Cunningham was credited with a team-high 16 digs.
The West Liberty women return to the ASRC boards on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match against Shepherd.
