INDIANA, Pa. — The West Liberty University volleyball team wrapped up play at the 2026 IUP Crimson Hawk Classic on Saturday with a pair of setbacks, falling to Lake Erie and Ashland in straight sets at Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex.
The Hilltoppers dropped a 3-0 decision to Lake Erie by scores of 17-25, 18-25 and 20-25 before falling to Ashland 25-15, 25-18 and 25-13.
West Liberty showed its strongest offensive stretch of the day in the third set against Lake Erie, recording 17 kills while hitting .229. The Hilltoppers finished the match with 36 kills, three more than Lake Erie, but were held to a .085 hitting percentage by 26 attack errors. Lake Erie hit .236.
Sidney Keni led the Hilltoppers with 10 kills, while
Adrienne Staib added seven kills and hit .429.
Taylor Speake collected a team-high 17 digs and added six assists, while
Dakoda Keni finished with 17 assists and five digs.
Lake Erie jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening set before Keni answered with three consecutive kills to pull the Hilltoppers within 6-3. West Liberty continued to battle, using kills from Staib and
Julia Birck and back-to-back service aces from
Kaelynn Burge to cut the deficit to 12-8. Speake later helped West Liberty score four straight points to make it 17-12, but Lake Erie closed out the set, 25-17.
The Hilltoppers again found themselves playing from behind in the second set after Lake Erie opened a 13-3 advantage. West Liberty battled back to 18-14 behind kills from
Ava Trentman,
Amira DuPree and Staib, along with another Burge ace. Lake Erie regained control late and took the set 25-18.
West Liberty remained within striking distance throughout the third set. After falling behind 3-0, the Hilltoppers eventually tied the score at 8-8 and later pulled even at 17-17 on a DuPree kill. Lake Erie scored three straight points to regain the lead and held on for a 25-20 victory.
The Hilltoppers then closed the tournament against Ashland.
West Liberty took an early 4-1 lead in the second match, with Keni supplying two kills and Staib and DuPree combining on a block. After Ashland tied the set at 6-6, West Liberty stayed within reach through the middle of the set before Ashland used a six-point run to turn a 16-12 advantage into a 22-12 lead. Ashland went on to take the opening set 25-15.
The Hilltoppers again started quickly in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead. Ashland answered with a 5-0 run to take the lead and maintained the advantage through the remainder of the set. West Liberty continued to receive kills from Birck, Keni, DuPree and
Giana Bogunovich but fell 25-18.
Ashland pulled away in the third set after turning an 11-14 deficit into a 19-11 advantage with five consecutive points. The Hilltoppers could not recover as Ashland closed out the set 25-13 and the match in straight sets.
DuPree led West Liberty with 11 kills against Ashland and added seven digs.
Dakoda Keni recorded 14 assists and six digs, while
Lily Brinker collected a team-high 11 digs. Birck added six kills while hitting .455 and recorded two block assists.
West Liberty finished the Ashland match with 26 kills, 25 attack errors and a .009 hitting percentage. The Hilltoppers also recorded 50 digs, five blocks and three service aces.
The Hilltoppers return action Tuesday at Shepherd.
