Buckhannon, W.Va. — West Virginia Wesleyan rode a balanced, high-efficiency attack to a straight-sets win over West Virginia State at the Rockefeller Center, 25–22, 25–23, 25–23.
Senior outside hitter
Lisdarelyn Grassals led the offensive charge with 14 kills, hitting .229 and adding two block assists for a match-high 15.0 points.
Emily Denison followed closely with 12 kills at a .296 clip, while
Bhrooke Axe delivered a highly efficient .348 hitting percentage with 11 kills and a team-best four total blocks (one solo, three assists).
Setter
Lacey Guthrie orchestrated the attack with 25 assists, also chipping in three service aces and five digs.
Faith Grafton was perfect on her lone attack and added an ace, while
Sabrina Carleton and
Emonie Fennell contributed steady offensive production with nine combined kills
Defensively, Wesleyan displayed the grit and consistency that have defined their late-season form.
Alexis Moeschler anchored the back row with 22 digs, while
Sydney Workman and
Claire Wheeler provided solid defensive support with seven and four digs, respectively. The Bobcats' serve-receive unit limited miscues to just four errors across three sets, maintaining steady control against the Yellow Jackets' aggressive service game.
At the net, Axe's four total blocks and Grassals' two block assists proved pivotal in containing West Virginia State's top hitters, who were held to a .193 attack percentage. The Bobcats' serving also kept WVSU off-balance, registering four aces to the Jackets' two
Set-by-Set Breakdown
- Set 1: Wesleyan used balanced attacking from Grassals and Denison to edge out the Yellow Jackets, 25–22, after nine ties and six lead changes.
- Set 2: Axe took over in the middle, powering Wesleyan to a 25–23 win behind a .325 team hitting percentage.
- Set 3: The Bobcats held off a late WVSU rally to close the match 25–23, with timely kills from Grassals and Denison sealing the sweep
The victory puts the Bobcats (MEC% .714) in a position to claim the #1 spot in the MEC Tournament coming up next week, but they'll need some help from Wheeling University (MEC% .769) and the University of Charleston (MEC% .786). Each has a slim advantage for in-conference winning percentage.
Wesleyan will close out its regular-season at Davis & Elkins College (MEC 0-14) on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
