ELKINS, W.Va. – Davis & Elkins notched its second-straight sweep of West Virginia Wesleyan, this time punching its ticket to the MEC Semifinals with the straight-set victory inside the McDonnell Center on Tuesday.
Davis & Elkins (9-2) received timely plays from throughout the lineup to hold off a game West Virginia Wesleyan (6-5) squad.
Molly Jandris returned to the lineup, smacking a match-high 15 kills and hitting .414 in the process, also adding three block assists and four digs for the homestanding Senators.
Macie Magallon cracked double digit kills for the 12th consecutive outing, posting 10 kills (.333 H%) with six digs two aces.
Mya Mintschenko provided a veteran presence for the Senators in this postseason clash with nine kills and two block assists on career-best .615 hitting percentage.
Brilane Manchego helped facilitate the offense with 42 assists, her third outing with 40 or more this season.
West Virginia Wesleyan was paced by a 14-kill outing from Emily Doyle. Autumn Molenhouse posted 20 digs and Maddi Carpenter filled in as the team's primary setter with 41 assists. Lauren Antolock and Anaya Hyman dropped in eight kills for the Bobcats.
The two teams split their regular season matchups and were separated by just eight total points on the night. D&E had just two more kills (49-47), two fewer errors (15-13) and had a slightly higher hitting percentage to make the difference (.288-.250).
WVWC opened up a 9-6 lead in the opening set before a 5-0 shifted things in favor of the Senators at 15-12. Jandris opened the run with consecutive kills before the Bobcats fired three attack errors to cap the swing. Three kills in a row, one from Minthschenko and two from
Maria Isabel Butruce Candiota, made it 19-14. The Bobacts stormed back to within one at 20-19 before the Senators were able to close things out for the 25-22 win.
Things were back and forth into the second set, tied midway through at 15. D&E scored six of the next eight points to move in front 21-17, capped by an ace from Magallon, before the hosts fought off Wesleyan for a 25-22 set two win.
WVWC had the lead early in the third frame before the Senators posted four straight markers to move ahead, 9-8. WV Wesleyan had a 6-0 run of its own to seize back control until the Senators gained some breathing room with five straight for a 21-18 edge.
Amaya Morales stepped in for the final kill to seal the sweep and move the Senators to the next round.
Davis & Elkins will return to postseason action on Friday, March 12 for the MEC Semifinals against Fairmont State at 5:00 PM. The 2021 semifinals and finals will be hosted by West Virginia State, the top seed in the MEC South Division.
