Buffalo, N.Y. – After winning the opening two sets in convincing fashion, the West Liberty volleyball team held off a rally from D'Youville to secure a 3-2 victory in the opening match of the D'Youville Tournament. The Hilltoppers won the match with set scores of 25-16, 25-8, 19-25, 26-28, and 15-11.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 3, D'Youville 2
Team Records: West Liberty 4-2, D'Youville 1-4
Attendance: 120
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• D'Youville opened the match on a 5-1 scoring run, however West Liberty seized control of the set with an 8-1 scoring run and extended it to 19-5 to take a 22-12 advantage, thanks to four kills from Ashley Cudnik and three kills from Katelynn Fritz. The Saints took four of the last seven points in the frame, however the Hilltoppers put away set number one, 25-16, with a kill from Riley Cudnik.
• Three consecutive D'Youville attack errors kept the momentum on the side of West Liberty, and Fritz added a kill to make it 4-0 WLU early in set two. While the Hilltoppers pushed the lead to 13-5, four of the five Saints points were a result of WLU service errors. Following a DYU timeout, three consecutive attack errors and a kill by Liv McAtee sparked a 6-1 scoring run, pushing the lead to double digits at 20-7, and forced the Saints to call their second timeout of the frame. A kill by Riley Cudnik gave the Hilltoppers the convincing win in set two 25-8, scoring 11 of the final 13 points.
• D'Youville regrouped with a strong third set, opening the frame with a 5-0 advantage and ending the set with a 9-2 scoring run to win the set 25-19. The Hilltoppers momentarily held the lead midway through the set when a 6-1 run gave West Liberty the 17-16 advantage.
• The teams traded the first six points of set number four before West Liberty jumped out to a 9-6 advantage. The Black & Gold pushed the lead out to as many as six points following a service ace from Riley Cudnik, however DYU claimed ten of the final 13 points of the set to force a deciding set five with a 28-26 win.
• Following a 5-5 tie in the early portions of set five, West Liberty rallied off a 7-2 scoring run to grab a 12-7 advantage. The Saints challenged late with a 4-2 run, however a kill by Riley Cudnik clinched match point for the 15-11 victory.
• With 11 kills and ten digs, Fritz secured her second consecutive double-double and third of the season, while Dakoda Keni posted her third consecutive match with 20 or more assists and added 14 digs for her second career double-double.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in the match with a .224 attack percentage compared to .071 for the Saints. WLU also held the overall advantage in total points (78-57), kills (56-43), blocks (13-5), assists (51-43), and digs (73-65). Both teams tallied nine service aces.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Dakoda Keni: 27 assists, 14 digs, 2 service aces
Nyia Setla: 16 digs, 5 assists, 3 service aces
Liv McAtee: 11 kills, .370 attack percentage, 6 blocks, 3 digs
Katelynn Fritz: 11 kills, .226 attack percentage, 10 digs
 
UP NEXT
The West Liberty volleyball team will play the final game of day one at the D'Youville University Tournament, facing Lake Erie later this evening. The Hilltoppers and Storm are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve at the College Center in Buffalo, New York.