West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team closed out the 2023 home slate with a hard fought sweep against MEC North Division foe, Frostburg State. The Hilltoppers avenged an early season loss to the Bobcats by scoring set wins of 26-24, 25-22, and 25-22 on Monday night in the ASRC.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 3, Frostburg State 0
Team Records: West Liberty 22-7 (10-3 MEC), Frostburg State 15-14 (5-8 MEC)
Attendance: 216
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A pair of kills by Leah Driscoll and service aces from Dakoda Keni and Ashley Cudnik helped West Liberty jump out to a 5-2 advantage to open the match. Frostburg State momentarily cut the lead down to one at 6-5, but three kills powered a 5-1 scoring run to push the lead to 11-6 for the Hilltoppers. The Bobcats continued to battle and seized control of the momentum with an 11-4 scoring run to grab a 17-15 lead. The Black & Gold forced another lead change with a 5-2 rally as a kill by Fritz gave them a 19-18 lead. FSU took four of the next six points to take a 22-21 edge late in the frame, but West Liberty controlled the end of set one by scoring five of the last seven points. The Hilltoppers clinched the opening set with back-to-back kills by Driscoll and Grace Hill to win 26-24.
• Frostburg State opened set two with an early 3-0 lead before West Liberty began to chip away and eventually tie the score at five apiece. A Bobcat attack error gave the Hilltoppers their first lead of the set at 7-6 and started to swing the momentum by slowly edging out to a 12-9 lead. The Black & Gold held their largest lead of the frame at 16-11 following back-to-back kills by Page Gross. WLU maintained a 3-4 point lead the remainder of the set, but FSU strung together four straight points to get within one at 23-22. West Liberty held their composure and clinched the win in set two 25-22 with back-to-back kills from Gross and Fritz.
• Fritz sent down three early kills in set three as West Liberty jumped out to a 5-2 lead. Frostburg State cut the lead down to one point on two occasions before tying the score at 12. The Hilltoppers wouldn't surrender the lead though as a kill by Hill sparked a 5-2 scoring run to lead 17-14. The Bobcats used a late 5-2 rally to tie the score at 22, but the Black & Gold secured the sweep by taking the final three points on kills by Hill, Fritz, and Liv McAtee to win 25-22.
• West Liberty held the advantage in the match with a .229 attacking percentage compared to .203 for Frostburg State. The Hilltoppers held the edge in points (55-54), kills (45-41), aces (7-5), assists (43-37), and digs (75-63) while the Bobcats held the lead in blocks (8-3).
• Fritz recorded her second consecutive double-double and 14^th of the season, while Keni posted her fifth double-double in the last seven contests and 11^th of the season. Keni has also recorded 30 or more assists in 16 matches this season.
• With ten kills in the win Driscoll recorded her second straight double digit kill performance and 14th of the season.
• Setla, the reigning MEC Defensive Player of the Week, posted her fourth game of 20 or more digs in the last five matches and also her 13^th of the season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Katelynn Fritz: 14 kills, .302 attack percentage, 11 digs, 2 blocks
Leah Driscoll: 10 kills, .194 attack percentage, 2 digs
Dakoda Keni: 39 assists, 13 digs, 1 ace
Nyia Setla: 26 digs, 2 assists, 2 aces
 
UP NEXT
With a Wheeling loss on the road to Notre Dame tonight, Friday night's regular season finale against the Cardinals will now have the MEC North Division title on the line. The Hilltoppers will look to clinch a share of the championship with first serve at 7 p.m. inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center in Wheeling.