Women's Volleyball | 9/4/2021 5:47:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2     DETROIT – The West Liberty University volleyball team opened some eyes here Saturday with a very impressive win on the final day of the season-opening Warrior Invitational at Wayne State University.
    Maddie Clayton and Kirsten Bogunovich formed a lethal 1-2 punch at the net and got plenty of support from their teammates as WLU handed highly-touted Walsh (Ohio) its first loss of the season.
    The Cavaliers, who spent most of the abbreviated Spring 2021 season ranked in the Top 10 nationally, ran away to a 25-13 win in the opening set but Coach Riley Schenk's Hilltoppers didn't blink.
    West Liberty rebounded to win the next two sets by scores of 27-25 and 26-15. The Cavaliers stayed alive with a 25-14 nod in the fourth set but West Liberty closed out the win with a 15-12 decision in the fifth set.
    Clayton, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, finished with 10 kills and a career-high 9 blocks while Bogunovich came up just shy of a rare triple-double with 9 kills, a team-high 23 assists and a dozen digs. Katelynn Fritz added 8 kills and 12 digs while Jenna Caskey and Braidyn Reed each contributed 7 kills. Nyia Setla led all players with 32 digs.
    The Black and Gold settled for a split on the day, dropping a 3-0 decision to Daemen (N.Y.) in their final tournament outing. The New York squad took control early with a 25-11 romp in the opening set and followed that up with wins of 25-18 and 25-23 to finish off the sweep.
    Clayton had another strong match with 9 kills and 3 blocks while Cudnik added 6 kills in a losing cause.
    The WLU women make their home debut on Tuesday when they host a non-conference tri-match with Pitt-Johnstown and Salem (W.Va.). Action gets under way at 3 p.m. with the Hilltoppers take on UPJ inside the ASRC.