LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The West Liberty University volleyball team split a season-opening triangular at Lock Haven (Pa.) University on Saturday.
    Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers pulled away to a 3-1 win against the host Bald Eagles in their morning match only to come up short in a 3-2 loss to Davis & Elkins in the afternoon.
    In the opener, WLU and Lock Haven split the first two sets but the Hilltoppers gained the upper hand with a 25-21 win in the third set and closed out the match with a convincing 25-18 decision in the fourth set.
    Raimey Benson and Olivia Baumhoer led the attack with 16 and 15 kills, respectively, with Caitlin Clarke putting away 13 kills. Amanda Leonard just missed a triple-double with 43 assists, 19 digs and 8 kills. Kailee Cunningham added a team-high 24 digs and Jo Lyn Jurek had 4 service aces to go along with 16 digs.
    In the afternoon match, West Liberty came out strong with a 25-15 romp in the opening set only to see D&E take the lead with a 25-23 win in the second set and a 25-20 nod in the third.
    The Hilltoppers responded with a dominant 25-15 win in the fourth set but couldn't keep the momentum going as the Senators prevailed, 15-9, in the fifth set to take the win.
    Benson had another strong match with 16 kills and 4 blocks while Stephanie Leonard added 9 kills and 4 blocks. Kendall Souder had 28 assists and 17 digs while Cunningham had a team-high 27 digs.
    The Hilltoppers return home to host Alderson-Broaddus and Salem in a triangular at the ASRC on Tuesday. West Liberty and A-B get the ball rolling at 3 p.m.