INSTITUTE, W. Va. – A thrilling five-set comeback win closed out regular season play for the Senators on Saturday, avenging an early season loss to West Virginia State behind a solid offensive performance.
Mya Mintschenko finished with nine kills and a career-high mark of seven blocks.
Kaitlyn LaCour posted 18 kills on 64 attempts, adding 14 digs and three blocks.
Raleighanne Weaver and
Solei Daniels finished in the double-digits with 10 kills each, while Weaver would add four blocks of her own.
Lillie Mueller hit .286 behind five kills, adding four blocks of her own.
Sarah Warren led the Senators with 47 assists, and
Luann O'Kane's career high 28 digs helped fuel the victory.
THE RUNDOWN
- Davis & Elkins (18-9, 11-5 MEC) – 3
- West Virginia State (20-13, 12-4 MEC) — 2
- Set Scores: 23-25, 25-10, 11-25, 25-23, 15-7
- Walker Convocation Center – Institute, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Set One: Mya Mintschenko notched three kills in the Senators' first ten points, but a 10-5 Yellow Jacket swing gave them the first set. D&E would push the set to 24-23 before WVSU was able to close out the set.
- Set Two: The Senators came out firing in the second set, taking an 11-4 lead before six WVSU errors during a 14-6 run notched the match at a set apiece.
- Set Three: West Virginia State would take a 2-1 lead with a dominant set of their own, hitting .273 while D&E finished the set at -.075.
- Set Four: Three Solei Daniels kills in a 6-1 run shifted the momentum behind a Senators rally to tie the set at 22, before a triple-headed block by Mya Mintschenko, Raleighanne Weaver, and Kaitlyn LaCour pushed the match to a deciding fifth set.
- Set Five: The Senators established control of the decider early, never trailing in the fifth set to complete the comeback victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Davis & Elkins locked up the 4th seed in the upcoming MEC tournament, finishing conference play with a record of 11-5, the best regular season of the decade.
- Luann O'Kane set a career-high with 28 digs, the second highest total by a D&E player this season.
- Kelly Smith extended her match streak of double-digit digs to 17 matches, finishing with 18.
- Not a single Senator hit in the negatives on the match, led by Lillie Mueller's .286 percentage.
UP NEXT
- Davis & Elkins has concluded the regular season, and will await their match-up in the Mountain East Conference tournament next week.
