FAIRMONT, W.Va. – A strong comeback by the West Liberty University volleyball team went for naught here Friday night as a surging Fairmont State squad pulled off a 3-2 upset win in Mountain East Conference action at Joe Retton Arena.
    Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers (18-8, 7-4) battled back from a 2-0 deficit to even the match only to see the host Falcons (11-12, 5-5) claim the fifth and deciding set to win their sixth consecutive match.
    The WLU women, who fell for the fourth time in their last five matches, struggled in the early going as Fairmont sprinted off to a 25-13 win in the opening set and followed that up with a 25-21 decision in the second set.
    Trailing 16-15 in the third set, West Liberty reeled off eight straight points to take control and stayed alive with a 25-17 win. The Hilltoppers built on that momentum, leading virtually wire-to-wire in the fourth set before fending off a late FSU surge for a 25-23 verdict that tied the match.
    West Liberty came close to completing the comeback, rallying from a 13-9 deficit in the fifth set to pull within 13-12 and force the Falcons into a timeout. A service error coming out of the timeout ended the Hilltoppers' run and Fairmont won the next point to close out the match.
    Olivia Baumhoer had a career-high 20 kills to pace the Black and Gold while Caitlin Clarke had 13 kills with 2 blocks and Stephanie Leonard weighed in with 10 kills, 4 blocks and a .500 hitting percentage. Kendall Souder had a double-double with 29 assists and a dozen digs while Kailee Cunningham and Jo Lyn Jurek added 23 and 21 digs, respectively.
    The Hilltoppers had 57 kills, 91 digs, 3 service aces and 10.0 blocks but posted just an .099 hitting percentage as a team. Fairmont finished with 52 kills 87 digs, 6 service aces and 16.0 blocks to go along with a .150 hitting percentage.
    The West Liberty women step out of conference play on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match at Slippery Rock.