SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team couldn't get anything going in the final set here Tuesday night and Shepherd pulled away to a 3-2 victory in Mountain East Conference action at the Butcher Center.
    It was a school-record 10th straight win for the Rams (19-5, 8-2), who eased past the Hilltoppers (18-7, 7-3) into sole possession of second place in the MEC standings in an up-and-down match that stretched on for nearly two hours.
    West Liberty came out strong with a 25-19 win in the opening set only to see Shepherd bounce back with a 27-25 decision in the second set. The hosts appeared to take control of the match with a convincing 25-18 verdict in the third set but WLU won the fourth set, 25-21, to force a fifth and deciding set.
    The Hilltoppers were leading by a 3-2 count in the fifth set when momentum swung, decisively and permanently, in favor of the Rams. Helped by three service aces, Shepherd ran off 10 straight points to take a commanding 12-3 lead. West Liberty got its final point when the Rams knocked the next serve into the net but Shepherd won the next three points to close out a 15-4 win.
    The Black and Gold had several strong performances in a losing cause. Stephanie Leonard led all players with a career-high tying 22 kills while Kailee Cunningham just missed a triple-double with 13 digs and 9 assists to go along with a career-high 17 kills.
    Olivia Baumhoer added 13 kills and Kendall Souder posted a double-double with 33 assists and a dozen digs. Jo Lyn Jurek chipped in with a match-high 24 digs.
    The Hilltoppers finished with 61 kills to 55 for Shepherd and also held an 85-71 advantage in digs but those numbers weren't enough to overcome the Rams' 13 service aces and 14.0 blocks.
    The West Liberty women face another challenging road test on Friday when they head to Fairmont State for a 7 p.m. match with the Falcons.