Concord Falls Short at WVU Tech

BECKLEY, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team was unable to hold onto a two-set lead against WVU Tech as it lost to the Golden Bears in five sets, 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 13-15, Thursday night in non-conference action at Van Meter Gymnasium.

The Mountain Lions fall to 0-1 while WVU Tech improves to 4-6.

Set 1
Down 12-11 in the first set, Concord took control of the opening game with a 7-0 run. The Mountain Lions went on the run without needing a kill as freshman outside hitter Hannah Steele served up an ace and WVU Tech committed six errors. WVU Tech was only able to get back to within four points as senior middle hitter Sheridan Herron closed out the game with one of her 12 kills in the match.

Set 2
The Mountain Lions rattled off the first five points of the set and never trailed. Junior middle hitter Amber Hall and Herron each had back-to-back kills open up the game. The Golden Bears did get within 18-16 before Steele and senior right side Peyton Wiseman each had a kill to extend the lead back to four, eventually winning by five.

Set 3
CU fought off an early 10-5 deficit to rally all the way back to tie the set at 22-22. A kill from senior outside hitter Jessica King evened the set at 23, but WVU Tech found the last two points of the set to get a game back from the Mountain Lions.

Set 4
Much like the third game, WVU Tech opened up a 7-1 lead. However, Concord stormed back to tie the set at 13-13. The Golden Bears had an answer as they went back up by three points right away and maintained the edge for the remainder of the set to force a decisive fifth set.

Set 5
Neither team led by more than two points in the final set. Down 12-10, the Mountain Lions scored three of the next four points with two coming on kills from Herron and Wiseman. But, WVUT scored the final two points of the match.

Final Stats
Steele registered 15 kills and hit .333 on the night. Herron added four blocks to her 12 kills. Senior setter Imani Rodgers had a double-double of 27 assists and 10 digs. Senior defensive specialist Kelli Ellison tallied 14 digs.

The Mountain Lions welcome WVU Tech to the Carter Center 7:00 p.m. Tuesday for a return match.