CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The West Liberty University volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches here Friday as the Vulcan Invitational got under way at California (Pa.) University.
    Coach Riley Schenk's Hilltoppers (5-3) rallied past Shippensburg (Pa.) by a 3-2 score in their first match before dropping a 3-0 decision to Bloomsburg (Pa.) in the second match. Both matches were played in Hamer Hall on the California (Pa.) campus.
    The opening match was a see-saw affair. West Liberty won the first set, 25-19, only to see Shippensburg (2-4) respond with back-to-back wins by scores of 25-13 and 25-18. The Hilltoppers righted the ship in the fourth set with a 25-20 win and dominated the decisive fifth set by a 15-5 count to seal the victory.
    Katelynn Fritz charted a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs while Kirsten Bogunovich checked off a lot of boxes with 10 kills, 8 assists and 7 digs. Nina Billotto and Maddie Clayton added 9 and 8 kills, respectively, while Nyia Setla had 19 digs and Haley Zeck added 27 assists for the Black and Gold.
    In the second match, all three sets went down to the wire but the Huskies (3-2) pulled out three tight wins – 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 – to secure the sweep.
    Bogunovich made a run at a triple-double in a losing cause with 8 kills, 12 assists and 8 digs while Clayton and Billotto chipped in with 7 kills each. Setla led all players with 22 digs and Zeck finished with a match-high 17 assists.
    The Black and Gold close out the tournament on Saturday with a pair of afternoon matches. West Liberty takes on host California (Pa.) at 2 p.m. before wrapping things up with a 6 p.m. match against Edinboro. Saturday's matches will be played in the Convocation Center.