• Tournament Central | Photos | Bracket
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- North Division rivals Fairmont State and Wheeling each notched wins on Friday night in the MEC Tournament Semifinals.
The Falcons swept past Davis & Elkins, 3-0, while Wheeling took down West Virginia State, 3-1, in the nightcap.
Fairmont State and Wheeling, which split their two matches this year and shared the North Division title, will meet in the finals on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of West Virginia State.
Fairmont State 3, Davis & Elkins 0 | Final Stats
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Fairmont State moved on to the MEC Tournament finals with a 3-0 win over Davis & Elkins, 26-24, 25-22 and 25-18.
The Falcons (10-2) hit .208 in the match and had 72 digs. D&E (9-3) had a .139 hitting percentage on the night.
The Senators led 23-20 in the first set, but Fairmont State scored the next four points to move ahead, 24-23. After D&E tied the match at 24-24, FSU's Amelia Moore hammered home a pair of kills to give the Falcons the first set.
In the second set, Fairmont State led by just a point at 15-14, but scored the next four points to give it breathing room. The Senators managed to get to within two points at 24-22, but Moore again scored the final point.
The third set saw each team go on several runs until the match was tied at 16-16. The Falcons rattled off nine of the next 11 points to close out the match.
Keara Lewis led Fairmont State with 15 kills to go with 16 digs. Kelsey Moeller and Lilianna Keber directed the offense with 18 and 16 assists, respectively. Moeller also was in on five blocks. Bryce Knapp came up with 22 digs.
Macie Magallon had 15 kills for the Senators. Brilance Manchego had 31 assists. Brianna Portley and Mya Mintschenko each were credited with five blocks.
Wheeling 3, West Virginia State 1 | Final Stats
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Wheeling dropped the first set, but swept the next three to defeat West Virginia State in the MEC Tournament Semifinals. After losing the first set 25-21, Wheeling edged WVSU 25-23 in both sets two and three, and closed the match with 25-14 win in the fourth set.
The Cardinals, the seven-time MEC Tournament defending champions, improved to 10-2. West Virginia State finished the spring season with a record of 10-2.
Wheeling got a big match from Kayla Bekier who hit home 22 kills on the night on a .308 hitting percentage. Lexi Smith was also efficient hitting .344 with 15 kills. Karly Niesen helped the Cards hit .243 in the match with 56 assists.
Wheeling had a 94-71 advantage on digs on the night, led by 31 from Audrey Francis. Jenna Franks added 17 and Raegan Rosi had 14.
Jenna Dufresne had 15 kills to lead the Yellow Jackets. J'Lana Stone had 13 kills. Gabrielle Bullock contributed 11 kills. Peri Martin dished out 46 assists.