BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Wesleyan (3-15, 3-6) volleyball team and Notre Dame College (13-11, 4-5) split the first four sets before the Falcons came out on top by a 3-2 final score on Friday night at the Rockefeller Center.
 
WVWC Leaders
Three Lady Bobcats sliced double-digit kills. Lexis Tatum led the way with a season-high 17 kill total. Joelle Lalla posted 12 kills while Anaya Hyman added ten kills. Payton Hefner passed 25 assists and Maddi Carpenter distributed 17 assists. Hefner and Kennedy Kuhns each placed two service aces.
 
Mackenzie Yates picked up 19 digs. Libero Autumn Molenhouse recorded 18 digs while Hefner contributed 17 digs. Lalla let her presence be known at the net, tallying seven total blocks. Tatum was the WVWC leading point contributor with 19.
 
Notre Dame (Ohio) Leaders
Kaye Dregalla led the Falcons with 16 kills. Jayme Zoeckler’s 25 assists led NDC. Amelia Kaeberlein and Katie Richardson produced two service aces. Kaberlein received 24 digs, while Carli Derda rejected five block assists.
 
Inside Set One
WVWC trailed 16-12 in the opening set. The Lady ‘Cats won four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 17-16 in favor of NDC. The road team went back up by four points at 20-16. A kill from Hope Arce-Reed, an NDC attack error, a kill from Michela Ayers and a service ace by Abby Anderson tied the score at 20.
 
Both teams traded the next four decisions evenly. Hyman delivered a kill to give Wesleyan a one-point advantage, 23-22. The Falcons tied the set on the next play. An NDC attack error gave Wesleyan an opportunity to end the set. Hyman drilled the final kill of the first set and WVWC escaped with a 25-23 set one victory.
 
Inside Set Two
The Falcons responded and claimed 10 out of the first 15 points in the second set. Consecutive service aces by Hefner put WVWC within two points. NDC was victorious in the following four decisions making the score 16-10.
 
Back-to-back service aces from Kuhns helped the Lady Bobcats climb to within three points of the NDC lead. A kill from Tatum made the score 20-16 in favor of Notre Dame (Ohio). The Falcons closed out the second set winning five of the final six points.
 
Inside Set Three
The score was tied at 7-7 when NDC committed two attack errors to give Wesleyan a 9-7 lead. NDC went back in front at 11-10. The Lady Bobcats recaptured the lead at 12-11 thanks to a service ace from Yates.
 
The Lady Bobcats extended their lead to five points after scoring four unanswered points, making the score 17-12. The two teams split the next 12 points and Wesleyan held a 23-18 lead. NDC managed to close the gap to three points twice down the stretch. Tatum finished the third set with a kill assisted by Jenny Lundy. WVWC took set three, 25-21.
 
Inside Set Four
NDC jumped out to a 13-8 lead. A Hyman service ace put WVWC within two points, 14-12. The Falcons ignited a 5-1 run to grow their lead to six points. NDC forced a fifth set after winning set four, 25-18.
 
Inside Set Five
NDC won the first four points of the fifth set. A kill from Yates and an NDC attack error cut the deficit in half. The Lady Bobcats trailed 5-2 when they roared back and claimed their first lead of the fifth set, 6-5. A kill from Molenhouse and Lalla put Wesleyan in front. The Falcons regained the lead at 8-7.
 
A sneak kill from Carpenter and a Falcon attack error put the Bobcats ahead 9-8. NDC responded and won the next three decisions to go up 11-9. A service error and an attack error by NDC tied the score at 11. The Falcons took the final four points of the match and won the fifth set, 15-11.
 
Up Next
Wesleyan will welcome Charleston to Buckhannon on Tuesday (Oct. 26) for a match that begins at 7 p.m.