Concord Collects First Win in Program History Over Fairmont State, 3-1

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team defeated Fairmont State 3-1 for the first time in 37 tries in a Mountain East Conference contest at the Carter Center Friday evening.
 
With the victory, CU improves to 13-14 overall and 6-5 in MEC play while Fairmont State drops to 16-11 and 6-5 against conference competition. The final set scores were 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, and 25-20.
 
Set 1
A kill followed by an ace by senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant kickstarted the Mountain Lions' attack to jump out to a 4-2 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Meg Williams followed with three consecutive kills to bring the score to 7-4. The Fighting Falcons tied the game, 8-8, then both teams traded points. With the score knotted 14-14, Williams and sophomore middle hitter Jasmine Anderson recorded the first Concord block of the night to start a 4-0 run. Sophomore setter Paige Richmond served two aces and Pilant picked up two more kills to seal the opening frame of the evening, 25-21.
 
Set 2
Both teams went back-and-forth early on before a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Chloe Thompson gave CU a slight edge, 9-8. Then, Anderson and Williams teamed up for another block to hold the one-point lead, 12-11. FSU tied the game 14-14, but three Fighting Falcons' attack errors paired with a kill from Pilant saw the Maroon and Gray lead by four. Anderson scored three of the last five points on kills to give the Mountain Lions a 2-0 lead, 25-20.   
 
Set 3
FSU held an early edge before a kill from sophomore right side Natalie Brown kept the score close, 6-2. Later in the set, Brown and Pilant blocked a Fairmont State attack to cut the deficit to four, 13-9. With the Fighting Falcons leading 20-12, Thompson crushed a kill to start a 5-0 CU run. Sophomore middle hitter Meagan Poticher added a kill and sophomore defensive specialist Allie Davis served an ace during the spurt. However, it was FSU that forced a fourth set, 25-21.
 
Set 4
The Mountain Lions started fast in the fourth frame of action, scoring four straight points on the strength of kills from Williams and Brown. Then, Anderson assisted on a pair of blocks to extend the lead, 7-3. Brown picked up a pair of kills midway through the game to push the lead to six, 14-8. Kills from Thompson and Anderson followed by another ace from Davis capped off a 4-1 run as CU held a nine-point edge, 21-12. Although FSU charged a 5-1 run, Brown hammered home the final kill of the evening to give CU its first win in program history over the Fighting Falcons, 25-20.
 
Match Stats
As a team, Concord hit .264 led by Anderson (.778, 7-for-9) and Pilant (.481, 15-2-27). Pilant and Williams led CU with 15 kills each. Brown also hit for double-digit kills with 12. Williams also picked up 12 digs to log a double-double. Freshman setter Rylee Wise also notched her first career double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs. Davis finished with 20 digs and two aces while Richmond logged a game-high 30 assists.
 
The Mountain Lions host West Virginia Wesleyan for a Mountain East Conference game Monday at 7:00 p.m.