Volleyball: WVU Routs Providence
October 15, 2004 09:41 PM | General
October 15, 2004
 |
||
| Zolna |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team disposed of Providence 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-26) behind the contributions of a wide array of underclassmen on Friday, Oct. 15, at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (14-7, 2-0) started their normal lineup in game one and used a 9-2 spurt midway through the contest to take a commanding 22-8 lead. Providence managed to combat West Virginia with a 7-3 run of its own but WVU tacked on four of the last six points to win the game 30-19.
West Virginia began to alter its lineup in game two when it replaced senior setter Brandice Studnicka with freshman Kailee Goold. The Mountaineers got off to a sluggish start and found themselves down by five at 11-6 before methodically trimming the advantage and tying the contest at 19. With the game tied at 20, WVU rattled off four straight points and scratched and clawed its way to a 30-28 victory.
The final and deciding game marked the appearances of freshmen Abby Tevis and Ashley Pappas, who replaced junior Kelly Mullins and freshman Megan Carroll. WVU again found itself down early when Providence took a 5-0 lead. An Alison Zemanski kill and block cut the margin to three at 5-2 and with the Friars leading 11-7, the Mountaineers found life and scored seven in a row to take a 14-11 advantage.
The Friars fought back to take a short-lived 16-15 lead before another Zemanski block brought an abrupt end to Providence’s final lead of the night. WVU outscored their competitors 15-10 to close out the game with a 30-26 victory.
The Mountaineers were paced by junior Stephanie Zolna who scored 10 kills on the evening. Zemanski had nine while sophomore Gina Cusanelli and junior Julie Hockenson tallied seven. Junior Kelly Mullins registered five kills despite playing in just two games.
Studnicka, who surpassed the 3,000 career assist mark in West Virginia’s victory over St. John’s, tallied 23 assists in just two games of action. Goold contributed 10 assists while replacing Studnicka in the second game of the evening.
Studnicka, a native of Clay Center, Neb., needs just 17 assists to pass Nicole Geraci for third place on West Virginia’s all-time assists list.
Leading WVU defensively was sophomore Aurora Ebert-Santos who recorded 14 digs in just two games and Zolna who tallied 11 digs. Mullins finished the match with 10 while Carroll had nine. As a team, West Virginia finished the match with 16 blocks compared to just five from Providence.
West Virginia's 14 regular season victories so far represents the most by a WVU team since 1997 when the Mountaineers posted a 15-13 record.
The Mountaineers return to BIG EAST action on Sunday, Oct. 17, when they battle arch-rival Pitt at the WVU Coliseum. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
