Institute, W.Va. – Winning the first two sets and the momentum on their side, the West Liberty University volleyball team looked to be on their way to their second MEC title game appearance in program history, but West Virginia State had other thoughts in mind as they came from behind to secure the 3-2 reverse sweep. In only their second 5-set loss this season (5-2), the Hilltoppers fell to the Yellow Jackets with set scores of 21-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-16, and 15-8 on Friday night.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 2, West Virginia State 3
Team Records: West Liberty 23-9 (10-4 MEC), West Virginia State 26-4 (14-1 MEC)
Attendance: 381
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After West Virginia State took the first point of the match on an attack error, West Liberty responded with a 5-1 run sparked by a kill by Grace Hill. The Yellow Jackets drew even in set at nine apiece, following three consecutive points for WVSU, but the Hilltoppers then took five of the next seven points with a pair of kills by Leah Driscoll to regain a three point edge at 15-12. WLU maintained the lead up until a 5-1 scoring run for State gave them the 21-20 advantage after Diamond'Nique Young's second straight kill. West Liberty, however, remained unphased as they ended the opening set with five straight points to clinch the 25-21 win, the run was sparked by a double block from Liv McAtee and Hill and capped by McAtee's second kill of the rally. The Hilltoppers hit .256 in the first set compared to .105 for the Yellow Jackets.
• The scoring run and momentum carried over to set number two for West Liberty as they scored the first seven points as McAtee and Hill had a pair of double blocks. West Virginia State slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting it to two at 14-12 after four consecutive points before a kill by Katelynn Fritz ended the run. The Yellow Jackets drew within one point on five different occasions, but the Hilltoppers never allowed them to tie the match. WLU ended the second frame by scoring four of the final five points with kills by Fritz and Driscoll, but they clinched the 25-21 set win on State's tenth attack error of the set. The Hilltoppers hit .265 in the second set compared to .073 for the Yellow Jackets.
• McAtee sent down a kill to give West Liberty the first point of set three and the 1-0 lead, however West Virginia State began to flip a switch as a 5-1 scoring run gave them the 5-2 advantage. The Hilltoppers responded with a 4-1 run to even the score at six apiece following two kills each from Driscoll and Page Gross. The Yellow Jackets then seized control of the set with a 16-3 scoring run to take a 22-9 lead. WLU began to challenge again late as a service ace by Laura Gamel capped four straight points and cut the lead back to single digits, but Young clinched set point on a kill at 25-15. The Yellow Jackets hit .467 in the third set compared to .091 for the Hilltoppers.
• West Virginia State once again continued with all the momentum in the start of set four, scoring the first eight points before a kill by McAtee got West Liberty on the board. The lead grew to nine before the Hilltoppers got back within five after four consecutive attack errors by Young for WVSU. WLU drew back within as close as four points on three occasions but never any closer as State ended the fourth by outscoring West Liberty 10-5, forcing a decisive fifth set with a 25-16 win in the frame. The Yellow Jackets hit .190 in the fourth set compared to -.053 for the Hilltoppers.
• A kill by Fritz gave West Liberty the first point of set five, but West Virginia State scored seven of the next nine points to force a Hilltopper timeout and remain in control. The Hilltopper scored two straight points out of the timeout after a service error and a double block by Gross and Fritz, however, they were never able to draw closer as the Yellow Jackets ended the set on an 8-3 run to clinch a 15-8 win in the fifth frame. The Yellow Jackets hit .562 in the fifth set compared to .067 for the Hilltoppers.
• West Virginia State held the advantage in the match with a .228 attack percentage compared to .135 for West Liberty. The Yellow Jackets also held the edge in points (81-63), kills (63-50), aces (5-4), blocks (13-9), assists (59-48), digs (69-65).
• Fritz collected her 16^th double-double of the season with a career-high 22 kills in the match while adding 15 digs. She recorded the most kills by a Hilltopper this season in the match.
• Driscoll reached double figure kills for the fifth consecutive match and eighth time in the last ten outings. Her 13 kills marked her 17^th double digit kill performance of the season.
• With 41 assists on the night, her seventh match of the season with 40 or more assists, Dakoda Keni became the first West Liberty volleyball player to reach 1,000 assists in a single-season in program history.
• In her second straight game at libero, Bella Dart recorded her second consecutive match of 20 or more digs with 24 against the Yellow Jackets. It marked her tenth double digit dig performance of the season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Katelynn Fritz: 22 kills, .245 attack percentage, 15 digs, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Leah Driscoll: 13 kills, .163 attack percentage, 4 digs
Dakoda Keni: 41 assists, 9 digs, 4 blocks
Bella Dart: 24 digs, 4 assists
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will find out their NCAA Tournament fate at 7:30 p.m. on Monday night with the bracket being released during a selection show on NCAA.com. The Hilltoppers entered the week at No. 8 in the Atlantic Region Rankings before going 1-1 in the MEC Volleyball Tournament.