West Liberty, W.Va. – As the regular season begins to wind down, the West Liberty University volleyball team can secure one of the top-2 seeds in the North Division for the upcoming MEC Tournament, as they travel to Fairmont State for a Friday night match. The Hilltoppers look to complete the season sweep and notch their first win in Joe Retton Arena since 2016 as the teams are set for a 7 p.m. first serve.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Fairmont, W.Va. (Joe Retton Arena)
• First Serve: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Friday's match with a record of 20-7 (8-3 MEC) following a home sweep of Salem on Tuesday night, marking their sixth win in their last seven matches. The Hilltoppers are in sole possession of second place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• For the third consecutive year WLU appeared in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings, as they were announced as a team under consideration in the initial poll on Wednesday that listed teams in alphabetical order. The Black & Gold were ranked in all three polls last season en route to their first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
• Through 27 matches this season WLU is hitting .190 while averaging 12.1 kills, 11.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.7 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• The Hilltoppers rank within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking tenth in total digs (1,739), 14^th in total attacks (3,720), 24^th in opponent hitting percentage (.139), and 25^th in total kills (1,254).
• Katelynn Fritz is among the top-10 of the individual leaders in the MEC with 272 total kills which is ninth most in the league. She is averaging 2.69 kills per set with a .179 attack percentage.
• Liv McAtee and Leah Driscoll are second and third on the team respectively with 216 and 202 kills. McAtee has notched 2.23 kills per set with a .223 attack percentage, while Driscoll has collected 2.66 kills per set and has a .199 attack percentage.
• Dakoda Keni has been among the top freshman setters in the country this season, having tallied 823 assists which is third in the MEC and is the seventh most by a freshman in DII. Keni has been averaging 7.91 assists per set, which is fifth best in the conference.
• Bella Dart and Nyia Setla lead the Hilltoppers at the service line, recording 36 and 33 service aces respectively to average 0.38 and 0.32 aces per set.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 513 digs on the season, which ranks second in the MEC and is the seventh most in DII. She is also second in the conference and 35^th nationally with 4.93 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net and ranks fifth in the league with 86.0 total blocks and an average of 0.98 blocks per set that is fourth in the MEC. Page Gross has added 52.0 blocks and is averaging 0.58 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 69-37 with the Hilltoppers.

FAIRMONT STATE STORYLINES

• Fairmont State enters Friday's match with a record of 15-13 (7-5 MEC) following a loss at Notre Dame on Tuesday night where they were swept by the Falcons. Fairmont has won five of their last seven matches and is in sole possession of third place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Fairmont State appeared as one of five MEC teams under consideration in the initial NCAA Atlantic Region Rankings on Wednesday afternoon, where teams were listed in alphabetical order.
• Through 28 matches this season FSU is hitting .186 while averaging 12.3 kills, 11.5 assists, 1.4 aces, 17.5 digs, and 2.3 blocks per set.
• The Falcons rank within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in six statistical categories, ranking fourth in total blocks (233.5), sixth in total attacks (3,865), seventh in total digs (1,785), 22^nd in digs per set (17.50) and attacks per set (37.89), and 23^rd in total assists (1,168)
• Joey Borelle and Ellie Zuro are both among the top attackers in the MEC. Borelle ranks fourth with 332 total kills and is seventh with 3.25 kills per set. Zuro is sixth with 295 total kills and is tenth with 3.14 kills per set. They have hitting percentages of .205 and .217 respectively.
• Jaianna Bouarouy and Kelsie Dangerfield have both made an impact for Fairmont as setters, totaling 591 and 386 assists in 2023. While Bouarouy ranks seventh in the conference in total assists, she also does in assists per set with a 5.85 average.
• At the service line, Josie Skinns has tallied a team-best 30 service aces and Natalie Zemba is second with 23, averaging 0.29 and 0.25 aces per set respectively.
• Defensively the Falcons are led by Skinn who leads the MEC with 537 total digs and 5.26 digs per set. She ranks second and 18^th in DII respectively.
• At the net, Emma Ludwig leads the league with 111.0 total blocks and is second with 1.12 blocks per set. Nationally she ranks fifth and 39^th in those categories.
• Former West Liberty volleyball assistant, Travis Hinkle, is in his third season as the head coach at Fairmont State with a record of 65-29 during his time with the Falcons. He is now in his sixth season overall as a head coach in collegiate women's volleyball, having previously spent three seasons at Notre Dame, and holds a career record of 108-65 during his time with FSU and NDC.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2010 Fairmont State holds the series lead 18-6, including six straight in Joe Retton Arena.
• West Liberty won the first match-up this season with a home sweep on September 29 that moved them to 3-0 in league play to open the year.
• Katelynn Fritz (11) and Leah Driscoll (10) recorded double digit kills in the win over the Falcons and Dakoda Keni added 32 assists and Nyia Setla notched 16 digs.