Women's Volleyball | 10/3/2017 10:13:00 PM

Box Score     WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's volleyball team snapped Malone's 7-match winning streak on Tuesday, gutting out a 3-2 win in a marathon battle that stretched well past the 2-hour mark on the ASRC floor.
    Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers (11-8) dropped the first set by a 26-24 count but won the next two sets, 25-19 and 25-16, to take a 2-1 lead. The Pioneers (12-5) refused to fold, coming back to force a winner-take-all fifth set with a 25-23 win in the fourth set. West Liberty bolted out to a 9-3 lead in the fifth set and then fought off another Malone rally for a 15-12 win.
    "Malone is a good team that has really been playing well," Mull said, "but we needed a win tonight. This turned into a big tug-of-war battle with a lot of momentum shifts but I was proud of the way we were able to stay positive, work through the rough spots and get the win.
    Although a Thursday night visit from arch rival Wheeling Jesuit was only 48 hours away, senior middle blocker Sydney Scherer said the Hilltoppers were totally focused on the task at hand.
    "Non-league games mean a lot to us, too," Scherer said, "because every time we play, we have an opportunity to get better. Getting a 5-set win against a good team like Malone gives us some nice momentum going into Thursday."
    Raimey Benson led West Liberty with a match-high 17 kills and 5 blocks. Caitlin Clarke had a double-double with 11 kills and 26 digs, Renee Lemke had a double-double with 28 assists and 20 digs while Scherer made a run at a triple-double with 9 kills, 9 digs and 8 blocks. Stephanie Leonard also had a strong match with 8 kills and 7 blocks.
    The Hilltoppers hit .158 as a team with 57 kills and an MEC season-high 114 digs. West Liberty also finished with a team-high 19.0 blocks, one shy of the MEC best this season.
    With Malone in the rear-view mirror, the Black and Gold will be turning its full attention to Thursday's match with another red-hot team in Wheeling Jesuit. Not only are the Cardinals riding a 10-match winning streak, they've never lost a Mountain East Conference match since the league was formed in 2013.
    "I think we made some strides last year when we took a set from them," senior middle blocker Erin Jans said. "It's a great challenge and I know everyone in our locker room is really looking forward to Thursday night."
  MALONE (12-5)
     Faith Lau 15-2-1; Mallory Adams 14-0-2; Veronica Gehring 11-0-1; Hannah Eliason 6-0-1; Rachel Santos 5-0-4; Georgia Kiko 1-0-0; Cathryn Miller 1-2-0; Brooklyn Sullivan 1-0-2; Abbie Swaino 1-0-1; Julia Marino 0-1-0; Totals 55-5-7.0.
     Assists: Cathryn Miller 28; Abbie Swaino 10.
     Digs: Mallory Adams 26; Maggie Hamrock 25; Sydney Black 16; Cathryn Miller 11
WEST LIBERTY (11-8)
     Raimey Benson 17-1-6; Caitlin Clarke 11-1-3; Sydney Scherer 9-1-8; Stephanie Leonard 8-0-7; Morgan Farley 7-0-4; Erin Jans 3-0-2; Renee Lemke 2-1-0; Kailee Cunningham 0-2-0; Totals 57-6-19.0.
     Assists: Renee Lemke 28; Kendall Souder 17.
     Digs: Kailee Cunningham 26; Caitlin Clarke 26; Renee Lemke 20; Sydney Scherer 9