BUCKHANNON — The West Virginia Wesleyan volleyball team (3-12, 3-3 Mountain East Conference) defeated Frostburg State (4-14, 1-5 MEC) in five sets on Thursday night at the Rockefeller Center.
 
WVWC Leaders
Three WVWC Lady Bobcats racked up double-digit kill totals. Lexis Tatum totaled a season-high 14 kills. Michela Ayers and Makenzie Yates each smashed 11 kills. Payton Hefner accumulated 28 assists, while Maddi Carpenter added 16 assists. Carpenter notched a career-high five service aces.
 
Autumn Molenhouse turned in another strong performance and contributed 21 digs, good for a season-high. At the net, Tatum and Milan Reynolds stuffed two block solos. Ayers and Joelle Lalla both netted five block assists.
 
Frostburg State Leaders
Beverly Braun had a match-high 20 kills. Setter Hayley Delor passed 47 assists. Braun and Fiona Medina Gonzalez each racked up four service aces.
 
Delor led FSU with 16 digs. Raven Pratt had the lone block solo for Frostburg State. McKaily Thompson-Moran totaled three block assists.
 
Inside Set One
The first set featured 10 tie scores and six lead changes. Wesleyan jumped out to an early 12-6 lead. Carpenter placed two consecutive service aces to force FSU’s first timeout of the set. WVWC extended their lead to 16-8 after a Frostburg attack error.
 
FSU won 14 out of the next 20 points to tie the set at 22. Frostburg State forced set point at 24-22. Wesleyan fought back and tied things up at 24 after a kill from Tatum and an FSU attack error. Frostburg had a chance to close the set out two more times. Kills from Hope Arce-Reed and Anaya Hyman extended the opening frame. With the score tied at 28, Tatum struck two consecutive kills to boost Wesleyan to a crucial 30-28 set one victory. Six of Tatum’s 14 kills came in the first set.
 
Inside Set Two
With the score knotted up at nine, FSU went on a 3-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. WVWC took the ensuing two decisions to put the score at 12-11. Frostburg State grew their lead to 20-14 after sparking an 8-3 run. Wesleyan cut the FSU lead to four points late in the set. Frostburg State evened the match and won set two, 25-19.
 
Inside Set Three
WVWC trailed 18-16 when Carpenter delivered her fifth ace of the match to close the deficit to one point. The visiting team won the next three points and went up 20-17. A kill from Yates on the next play cut into FSU’s lead. Frostburg State won the next three points and padded their lead to five points. FSU was victorious in set three, 25-20.
 
Inside Set Four
WVWC jumped out to a 16-7 lead. The home team ignited two separate 4-0 runs in the early stages of the fourth frame. FSU fought back and trailed Wesleyan 23-20. A kill from Molenhouse and a service ace from Hefner secured a set four win for WVWC, 25-20.
 
Inside Set Five
Yates struck two kills, and FSU committed an attack error to give Wesleyan an early 3-0 lead. Another kill from Yates and a Frostburg State attack error grew WVWC’s lead to four points. The road team won the next three decisions to make the score 5-4 in favor of Wesleyan.
 
After a service error from FSU, Ayers connected on a service ace and Jenny Lundy powered a kill to grow WVWC’s lead to 8-4. FSU cut the deficit in half after taking the ensuing two points. Lundy swung another kill and grew WVWC’s lead to 9-6.
 
A kill from Frostburg State’s Jackie Sternberg forced a Wesleyan timeout at 9-8. Lundy hit her third kill of the final set to give the home team a two-point cushion. FSU closed the gap to one point on the next play. Yates hit her fourth kill of the fifth set and put WVWC ahead 11-9.
 
FSU responded and once again trailed by one point. Ayers gave Wesleyan the 12th point of the set on the next play. The visiting team tied the score at 12. A Yates kill and an FSU attack error gave match point to WVWC. Frostburg State won the next point to cut the deficit to 14-13. A pass from Hefner set up Lalla to collect the final kill of the match and give WVWC a 15-13 set five victory.
 
Up Next
The West Virginia Wesleyan Lady Bobcats will conclude the three-match homestand on Saturday versus Davis & Elkins. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.