INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The West Virginia Wesleyan volleyball team (2-11, 2-2 Mountain East Conference) fell in a road match to West Virginia State (15-2, 4-0 MEC) on Friday night at the Walker Convocation Center in Institute, W.Va.
 
WVWC Leaders
Jenny Lundy and Makenzie Yates both reached the double-digit kill mark. Michela Ayers tallied seven kills. Payton Hefner distributed 16 assists and smashed one service ace. Maddi Carpenter passed 13 assists and had a service ace. Anaya Hyman recorded a service ace.
 
Autumn Molenhouse reached the double-digit dig mark for the fifth time this season with 11 digs. Yates added nine digs to her stat line. At the net, Milan Reynolds led WVWC with two block assists and Yates and Ayers each contributed one block assist.
 
West Virginia State Leaders
Jenna Dufresne powered the WVSU offense, collecting 15 kills and swinging at a .577 clip. Kiersten Eggleton tabbed 17 assists. Rachelle Madison was the lone Yellow Jacket with a service ace.
 
Libero Alex Darby had a game-high 17 digs. Three WVSU players had four block assists: Dufresne, Grace Martin and Natalie Beer. Martin added two block solos and totaled six blocks.
 
Inside Set One
Both teams split the first ten points of the match. WVSU scored consecutive points thanks to kills from Martin and Eggleton to take a 7-5 lead. WVWC cut the lead to 10-9 after a kill from Lundy. The Yellow Jackets went on a 5-1 run to extend their lead, 15-10. WVSU won 10 out of the final 14 decisions to win the first set, 25-14. 
 
Inside Set Two
With the Lady Bobcats trailing 12-7, Yates smashed a kill to ignite a 3-0 run for Wesleyan. A kill from Jayla Cowherd cut the WVSU deficit to one point. Hyman tied the set at 13 with a service ace. Lundy gave Wesleyan their first lead of the second set with a kill on the next play.
 
The Yellow Jackets responded and won the next four points to regain the lead, 17-14. Lundy connected on two consecutive kills to cut the West Virginia State lead to one point. The Yellow Jackets took the next three points to go up 20-16. WVSU claimed set two, 25-19.
 
Inside Set Three
Two kills from Ayers and a kill from Yates tied the set at six points after the ‘Cats trailed 6-3. The Yellow Jackets won the next four points and took a 10-6 lead. Yates’ 10th kill of the evening put Wesleyan within one point of WVSU, 10-9. A service ace from Hefner cut the Yellow Jackets lead to one later in the set at 12-11. After Hefner’s ace, West Virginia State went on a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 17-12. The Yellow Jackets took set three, 25-18.
 
Up Next
The Lady Bobcats will return home to face Fairmont State at the Rockefeller Center on Tuesday (Oct. 12) at 7 p.m.