Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Trailing two sets to one, the IUP women's volleyball program nearly finished out a five-set comeback, eventually falling just short to host West Liberty on Tuesday night at the ASRC.
IUP (3-2) had its three-match winning streak snapped, falling to West Liberty (3-2) in set scores of 25-23, 17-25, 24-26, 25-23, 13-15. Junior
Nyla Birch guided the Crimson Hawks with 15 kills and 19.5 points.
Senior
Stefania Anagnostou posted nine kills, six aces and 15 digs in an all-around effort for IUP, while senior
Grace Mangapora finished with 13 kills and 19 digs for a double-double. Senior
Kat Warpinski dealt out 30 assists with 13 digs, while senior
Bailey Flowerdew added 11 digs.
Katelyn Fritz paced West Liberty with 17 kills and 15 digs, while Liv McAtee added 10 kills.
Both teams were particularly strong at the service line in the opening set, which went back and forth. Anagnostou carried IUP at the service line with six aces, including four consecutive aces, which pulled the Crimson Hawks back ahead at 19-18.
Close throughout, West Liberty pulled ahead at 18-11 before the Crimson Hawks answered with a surge of their own. IUP closed the stanza with five consecutive points, capped by three consecutive kills from Birch for a hard-fought 25-23 set victory.
The onset of the second set mirrored the first with both teams trading points. A solo block from junior
Simay Memisoglu pushed IUP to an 8-6 advantage before the Hilltoppers countered back with a run. The WLU surge continued, fueled by a combination of kills and IUP attack errors, for a 23-11 Hilltopper advantage.
IUP received kills from four different players, including
Rylee Brown, Birch, graduate student
Caroline Walsh and Memisoglu as part of a last push before WLU held on for a 25-17 set victory.
WLU opened up an early edge in the third set at 7-3 before IUP used a five-point stretch and trimmed the deficit to 10-9. Walsh, Anagnostou and Memisoglou placed down kills with IUP slowly chipping away. Just as IUP began to gain some momentum, West Liberty expanded its margin to 16-10 and 22-17.
The Hawks held off set point on four consecutive rallies, kickstarted by a Walsh kill, before West Liberty closed out an extended set win at 26-24.
Despite some impressive offense early, IUP found itself trailing 9-7 to WLU in the fourth set. The Hilltoppers methodically increased their lead to 13-8, prompting an IUP timeout. The Crimson Hawks worked the score even at 13 following five consecutive points, which included kills from Anagnostou and two from senior
Lauren Valentic.
Valentic closed the night with 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, adding a solo block with three block assists.
With the set tightly contested from there, IUP pulled ahead slightly and held on for a 25-23 set win, sending the contest to a decisive fifth and final frame. Mangapora stepped up over the final set for IUP, which opened up an 8-6 advantage before a West Liberty timeout. WLU tied the score at nine before taking a one-point lead at 10-9.
Consecutive kills from opposite sides leveled the score at 13 before WLU capitalized on a service error and attack error to close out the match at 15-13.
Up Next
IUP travels to Ohio for the Findlay Classic, which includes a stretch of four matches in three days.
The Crimson Hawks square off against Hillsdale at Findlay on Thursday, September 8 with first serve set for 5:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawks and @IUPVB.
