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OCTOBER 7, 2021
Volleyball splits last weeks matches
Last week, the volleyball team played two games; one against Notre Dame College (Sept. 28), and one against Alderson Broaddus University (Oct. 1). West Liberty lost in five against Notre Dame, but secured a win against Alderson Broaddus University (4-5) three days later. The lady toppers were up 2-0 against Notre Dame having won the first set 25-20 and the second 30-28. However, the next three sets went to Notre Dame at 2225, 22-25 and 16-18. West Liberty actually had the lead in that fifth set at 14-11, but Notre Dame was resilient which resulted in a loss for West Liberty’s first MEC conference match. Coach Riley Schenk said the game was filled with errors on both sides of the court, and at the end it was the toppers who made more errors. Schenk believes that it is likely due to the team’s mental toughness that night. She said, “we talk a lot about being mentally tough, and we were not as a team against Notre Dame.” Junior middle, Nina Bilotto, played an incredible match, racking up 18 kills and nine blocks.
Graduate student and middle, Madison Clayton followed with 10 kills and four blocks then MacKenzie Daub and Riley Cudnik with three blocks each and eight and seven kills, respectively. Daub recalls a big play executed by Clayton during the match where Clayton hit the libero so hard in the chest that the ball ricocheted into the roaring stands. Daub said, “It was just one of those plays that gets everyone excited. The sound of the ball hitting the libero in the chest was quickly drowned out by the team screaming.”
Clayton led the game with 12 kills and one block, followed by Cudnik with 10 kills and three blocks, Fritz with eight kills, and Billotto with six kills and four blocks. Bogunovich racked up 37 assists in the topper’s one setter offense while simultaneously getting the third highest number of digs with eight digs, before her being Setla and Fritz with 16 and nine digs
SPORTS
respectively. The lady toppers, are (1-1) in conference play and (108) overall, will face Fairmont State University (10-5) and Frostburg State University (4-11) the following week. Schenk said “we are a scrappy group who has a ton of potential. We just need to keep finding our flow tog.” Visit hilltoppersports.com for more information.
The Hilltop’s Athlete of the Week
~ Kaelyn Oskin~
Three days later, in Philippi, W. Va., the lady toppers turned the tables against Alderson Broaddus. This time, they kept the errors low,. Schenk said that, “heading into [the Alderson Broaddus game], we wanted to focus [on] playing our game and setting the pace.” And they did just that. Setla said that despite the intense crowd, the team was able to stay focused, and that led to the three game sweep against Alderson Broaddus with scores of 25-19, 2522 and 25-20. One of the three captains, Ashton Wronikowski, said that the team’s “execution of our free ball plays, our strong blocks at the net and good serving helped keep the momentum on our side” and led the team to victory.
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
[Women Soccer] - [Forward] Year: Graduate Student Hometown: Butler, PA About Oskin: Oskin scored two goals in the victory over Wheeling. In doing so, she became the West Liberty women’s soccer team alltime leading goal scorer. Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
