Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Junior outside hitter Karley Allen recorded her 1,000th career kill as the UVa-Wise women's volleyball team pulled off a huge 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23) win Friday night on the road at West Liberty.
 
With the win the Cavaliers (7-7, 3-0) remain unbeaten in Mountain East Conference play and are off to their best league start since joining the MEC in 2013.
 
Allen becomes just the fourth Cavalier in school history to reach the historic mark of 1,000 career kills. The Lanexa, Virginia (New Kent H.S.), native now holds 1,007 career kills and is ranked behind Head Coach Kristen Salyer (1,214), Mikaela Logan (Anders) (1,475) and Natasha Viers (1,574).
 
"I'm excited for Karley, reaching 1000 kills is a huge accomplishment and to see her do it as a junior is just a testament to the player she is", commented coach Salyer about Allen reaching the career mark.
 
The Cavs jumped out to a two sets to zero lead over the Hilltoppers (9-10, 2-2) before falling in the third set, only to claim a tightly contested fourth set for the match win.
 
In the first set the Cavs took control early and never let go, but the second set proved much different as UVa-Wise led by nine at 23-14 before West Liberty stormed back to make it a one-point game at 24-23. A kill by junior middle blocker Santana Bishop eventually ended the set for the Cavs, giving them a convincing lead in the match.
 
The Hilltoppers outplayed UVa-Wise in the third set despite a late push by the Cavs. West Liberty led the Cavs by six at 18-12 but UVa-Wise battled back and made it a one-point contest at 21-20. However, the Hilltoppers won five out of the six final points in the set to take the third and make it a 2-1 match.
 
The Cavs owned a six-point lead at 12-6 in the fourth set after a kill by freshman middle blocker Amanda Auxier but the Hilltoppers came back to tie the score at 20 apiece. The score was knotted up once again at 22 all before the Cavs claimed two consecutive points off of kills by junior outside hitter Erin Anderson and Auxier. West Liberty made one more kill before junior libero Erin Lee earned the final point to give the Cavs the set (25-23) and the match victory.
 
The Cavs outhit the Hilltoppers with an attack percentage of .206 compared to .154 for West Liberty. UVa-Wise made 58 kills as the Hilltoppers claimed 57 of their own. The Cavs tallied 58 assists and made 87 digs, while recording a season-high nine total team blocks.
 
West Liberty made 56 assists as a team and collected 84 digs to go along with 11 total team blocks.
 
Allen led the Cavs with 18 kills on the night and a career-high 30 digs. Junior middle blocker Lindsey Tucker was impressive offensively with 14 kills in the match with only two errors and an attack percentage of .462.
 
Anderson collected 22 digs in the four sets while senior outside hitter Kelsey Smith added 11 more. Freshman setter Chandler Rouse recorded 52 assists and also contributed 10 digs as she went over the 50-assist mark for the third time this season.
 
West Liberty was led by Stephanie Leonard who had 22 kills and Raimey Benson who claimed 13. Amanda Leonard and Miranda Garmenn collected 26 and 24 assists respectively for the Hilltoppers, while the Hilltoppers' Courtney Pyeritz tallied 25 digs and Stephanie Leonard added 14 more.
 
"That win was a big one for us, conference wise and in general", added the coach Salyer. "We have been struggling on the road all year but they came ready to play today. I'm extremely proud of how we played together and how well we competed. All 14 players made a difference in this match."
 
Tonight's win was significant for the Cavs as West Liberty was picked to finish fifth in the MEC preseason poll, while UVa-Wise was selected to finish ninth in the conference. The Hilltoppers have already recorded league wins over Urbana University and Notre Dame College this season.
 
The Cavs will now return home and begin a three-match homestand starting on Tuesday as they welcome Concord University to the David J. Prior Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. first serve.