Concord Downed by West Liberty in Four Sets

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team was clipped in four sets by West Liberty Saturday morning in a Mountain East Conference match at the Carter Center.

The first two sets featured a combined 30 ties and 14 lead changes as the Hilltoppers (13-10, 4-3 MEC) won both games, 25-23 and 30-28. Concord (4-11, 1-6 MEC) cruised to a third-set win, 25-16, before WLU came back in the fourth, 25-20.

Set 1
CU jumped out to a 4-0 lead before it was answered by four straight points from West Liberty. From there, neither team led by more than a point until a kill from sophomore right side Csayjah Whitelow gave Concord a 15-13 advantage. Hanging onto a 21-20 edge, the Mountain Lions watched WLU score three straight points on its way to the two-point win.

Set 2
The second game had 16 ties as Concord found some breathing room at 17-13 after a 5-0 run that ended with a kill from freshman outside hitter Hannah Steele. The Hilltoppers rallied to go up 20-19. Both teams had multiple chances to close out the set, but it was West Liberty that scored the final three points of the game to take a 2-0 match lead.

Set 3
The Mountain Lions rebounded from the tough second-game loss as they jumped out 12-6 after a kill from Whitelow. Senior middle hitter Sheridan Herron also aided the run with two of her 12 kills in the contest. West Liberty would only get as close as four points for the remainder of the set.

Set 4
Concord grabbed a 9-6 edge, but West Liberty responded with 5-0 scoring run to take 13-10 lead. Despite the game being tied seven times, the Mountain Lions were never able to tie or retake the lead for the remainder of the match.

Match Stats
Junior middle hitter Amber Hall and Steele matched Herron for the team lead in kills. Hall hit .706 in the match (12 kills in 17 chances). Steele recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore setter Kristin Lough (16 assists, nine digs) and senior setter Imani Rodgers (26 assists, eight digs) just missed double-doubles. Herron had five total blocks and Whitelow added four total blocks. Senior defensive specialist Kelli Ellison recorded 21 digs. 

CU takes to the road to Fairmont State 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.