Box Score INSTITUTE, W.Va. – UVa-Wise volleyball began Mountain East Conference play Friday night with a 3-1 road victory over West Virginia State. The Cavaliers (1-13, 1-0 MEC) earned their first win of the season with a trio of 26-24 set wins against the homestanding Yellow Jackets (1-10, 0-1 MEC). UVa-Wise's lone set loss came in the third when the Cavs were outscored 25-17.
 
In the opening set, UVa-Wise held a 22-20 advantage before West Virginia State won four consecutive points to take a 24-22 lead. However, that did not deter the Cavs as UVa-Wise won the next four points to take the first set 26-24. The Cavs then made a remarkable comeback in the second set after trailing by seven at 21-14 and being down five set points. Down 24-19, UVa-Wise rattled off seven consecutive points to earn another 26-24 set win.
 
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the third set and didn't let up. The Cavs got within five at 16-11 but that would be it as West Virginia State claimed the set by a score of 25-17. In the fourth set, UVa-Wise came back from a deficit once again. Trailing 15-11, the Cavs climbed their way back to retake the lead at 19-18 and remained ahead with a 22-20 advantage, but West Virginia State found a way to win four-straight points after a pair of kills and two UVa-Wise errors. Down double set point, the Cavs used two kills of their own and got two attack errors by the Yellow Jackets to win the fourth set 26-24 and clinch the match.
 
UVa-Wise swung .143 for the match and recorded 49 kills as West Virginia State hit .130 and made 53 kills, 17 of which came in the third set alone. Both teams earned 15 kills in the final set but a total of 32 attack errors in the match, eight coming in the fourth set, seemed to hurt the host Yellow Jackets. The Cavs hit eight service aces and came up with 11 blocks as a team.
 
Senior outside hitter Karley Allen (Lanexa, Va.) led the Cavs with a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs, and contributed two service aces. Senior middle blocker Santana Bishop (Gate City, Va.) made a match-high six blocks and fellow senior middle blocker Lindsey Tucker (Midlothian, Va.) finished with four blocks. It was the first match back for Tucker after suffering a season-ending injury last October. Senior libero Erin Lee (Fincastle, Va.) got to a season-high 20 digs and served up three aces, while freshman setter Morgan Milligan (Bridgewater, Va.) assisted on 41 of the Cavs' 49 kills. Sophomore right side hitter Amanda Auxier (Midlothian, Va.) tallied 11 kills and three blocks as sophomore outside hitter Ciara Kain (Leesburg, Va.) added 10 kills of her own.
 
The Yellow Jackets were led by Rebekah Baldwin with 11 kills and three blocks, and Edwina Barnett and Taylor Allbritton, who each had nine kills. Brenna Barker hit a match-high four aces and registered 21 assists for West Virginia State, while Makala Cook made four blocks and Brooke Cieslewski recorded a match-high 21 digs.
 
The Cavs will remain in the Charleston, West Virginia, area for a pair of matches Saturday. UVa-Wise takes on University of Charleston at 1 p.m. and then steps out of league play for a neutral-site match against Ohio Valley University at 3 p.m.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier volleyball news, statistics, complete schedule and more.