ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team split a doubleheader Friday night at the Carter Center as it defeated West Liberty in four sets, but fell to nationally-ranked Wheeling Jesuit in three sets in Mountain East Conference action.
The Mountain Lions are 12-18 overall and 6-7 in the MEC. West Liberty is now 16-13 and 7-7 in the league. WJU stays undefeated in conference play with a 13-0 mark and sports a 25-4 record.
Match 1: Concord 3 – West Liberty 1 (19-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-16)
After losing the first set, Concord rattled off three consecutive wins in games two through four to down WLU.
CU jumped out on the Hilltoppers 6-2 in the first set after a kill from junior middle hitter Brooke Heck. But the West Liberty slowly closed the gap and then took a 10-8 lead. The first game remained tight at 19-19, but WLU scored the final six points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
A second set win for the Mountain Lions was aided by a 9-0 run. Concord led by as much as 13 in the set before winning by 12 points. WLU hit -.047 in the second set to help CU tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was much tighter as it had to be decided with a few extra points. After a tight start to the game, West Liberty grabbed a 16-12 edge. However, Concord fought back with a 9-5 run to tie the match at 21-21. Among the nine points were two kills each a piece by sophomore middle hitter Emily Ellis and Heck. Senior middle hitter
Shea Hoffman and sophomore outside hitter Ellie Lawrence also had a kill each during the run. Tied at 25-25, Ellis provided a kill then blocked a potential kill from the Hilltoppers as CU took the pivotal third set.
Concord used some early momentum in the fourth set to run out to a 14-8 lead. The Hilltoppers made a run to close within 15-12, but consecutive kills from Heck and another from Lawrence gave CU a comfortable 20-12 advantage on its ways to a nine-point fourth set win.
Heck tied her season high with 17 kills while hitting .429. Ellis finished 10 kills and four blocks with three coming during the third set. Lawrence added nine kills and 11 digs.
Sophomore setter Jenna Mounts notched a double-double with 16 assists and a career-best 16 digs. Senior setter
Casey Mandeville went for a team-high 28 assists. Freshman libero Lindsay Maddox notched 29 digs.
Friday was the first time head coach
Kate Dillon beat West Liberty during her nine-year tenure at CU.
Match 2: No. 21 Wheeling Jesuit 3 – Concord 0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-15)
Wheeling Jesuit closed each of the three sets on a strong runs as Concord lost in three sets to the four-time defending MEC champion.
Ellis recorded nine kills and three blocks. The Oak Forest, Illinois native hit .444 in the match. Mandeville notched 18 assists while Maddox had 10 digs.
The Mountain Lions continue their five-game home stand to end the season when they welcome UVa.-Wise 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.
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