BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – West Virginia Wesleyan volleyball fell 3-1 (22-25, 28-26, 18-25, 26-28) to West Liberty in a Mountain East Conference match Saturday morning at the Rockefeller Center.
The Lady Bobcats (8-12, 4-4 MEC) take a step back before some rest while the Hilltoppers improve their MEC ranking (6-16, 5-3 MEC).
West Liberty took the opening set 25-22, and the Bobcats answered with a back-and-forth second set that was tied at 24 and again at 26 before Wesleyan won 28-26. The Hilltoppers hit .438 in the third set to take it 25-18. Set four also went to extra points, and West Liberty held on for a 28-26 win to close out the match.
Bhrooke Axe led Wesleyan with 18 kills on .353 hitting. MacKenna Halfin added 17 kills and a team-high 15 digs. Emily Denison had eight kills and 12 digs, and Addison Gosche chipped in eight kills. Denison's 12 digs helped contribute to her milestone of 1000 career digs, which she reached during the third set.
Mia Myers and Liliana Beckstedt each had 27 assists. Lacey Guthrie had two aces.
Wesleyan had more kills (59-53), assists (57-46) and digs (52-49) than West Liberty, but the Hilltoppers had 13 blocks to the Bobcats' four and 11 aces to Wesleyan's five. West Liberty hit .273 to Wesleyan's .257.
Giana Bogunovich led West Liberty with 13 kills, and Julia Birck added 10 kills and eight blocks. Dakoda Keni had 34 assists.
Wesleyan next plays at Frostburg State on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.
