West Liberty, W.Va. – After a competitive opening set, the West Liberty University volleyball team used a pair of large scoring runs in the second and third sets to secure the sweep of Davis & Elkins on Friday night in the ASRC. The Hilltoppers clinched their sixth win of the season in straight sets with scores of 25-23, 25-17, and 25-16 to snap a two match losing streak.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 3, Davis & Elkins 0
Team Records: West Liberty 15-6 (4-2 MEC), Davis & Elkins 1-17 (0-6 MEC)
Attendance: 116
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the teams battling back-and-forth for a majority of the opening set, Davis & Elkins was the first to make a run and grab the momentum as they strung together a 5-2 scoring run to take a 12-10 lead. Kills by Leah Driscoll, Grace Hill, and Ashley Cudnik regained the lead for WLU momentarily before D&E went on a 4-2 rally to take a 17-16 lead. The Hilltoppers eventually took control of the set with a 7-0 scoring run with kills by Katelynn Fritz, Cudnik, and Liv McAtee. The Senators, however, had one last charge as they took five consecutive points to cut the WLU lead to one and force a West Liberty timeout. The Black & Gold secured set point, 25-23, with a kill by Driscoll.
• A service ace by Haley Zeck gave West Liberty the early 6-4 lead in set two before a 6-0 scoring run by Davis & Elkins pushed the Senators to a four point lead. Following a WLU timeout, the Hilltoppers swung the momentum as they ended the set on a 19-7 scoring run. The Hilltoppers clinched the set win, 25-17, with a kill by Hill. In the second frame neither team held a positive attack percentage as West Liberty hit -0.03 while Davis & Elkins hit -0.081.
• A double block by Dakoda Keni and Page Gross, followed by a Davis & Elkins attack error gave West Liberty a 9-7 advantage in set three after the teams split the first 14 points. The Senators responded with a 4-0 run to take their own two point lead, however a kill by Hill ended the scoring run and set the tone for the remainder of the set. The Black & Gold regained the lead with five consecutive points and would not surrender it the remainder of the match. WLU ended the match on a 16-5 scoring run, powered by three kills by Gross. The Hilltoppers clinched match point, 25-16, on a double block by Hill and Keni. West Liberty recorded a match-high .269 attack percentage in the third set.
• West Liberty held the advantage in the match with a .105 attack percentage compared to only .010 for Davis & Elkins. The Hilltoppers also held the edge in points (46-32), kills (31-23), aces (6-4), blocks (9-5), assists (28-19), and digs (50-35).
• While still coming out victorious in the match, the Black & Gold were held to a season low of 28 assists, tied a season low of 31 kills, and were held to their lowest attack percentage in a win at .105.
• Tonight's match against the Senators marked only the third time this season that West Liberty did not have a player reach double digit kills, the other two occurrences were wins over Central State and Lake Erie.
• With 18 assists, Keni has reached double digit assists in all 21 matches this season.
• Nyia Setla and Fritz have reached double digit digs in 20 and 12 matches respectively.
• With a match high of six total blocks, Hill has recorded five or more blocks in six matches this season.
• Gross recorded a career-best, three service aces, for the third time this season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Leah Driscoll: 6 kills, .500 attack percentage, 4 blocks, 2 digs
Grace Hill: 4 kills, .083 attack percentage, 6 blocks
Dakoda Keni: 18 assists, 7 digs, 4 blocks
Nyia Setla: 16 digs, 3 assists, 2 service aces
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will have a quick turnaround as they finish their three game homestand tomorrow afternoon when they welcome West Virginia Wesleyan to the hilltop. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are set for a 12 p.m. first serve inside the ASRC.