Volleyball: WVU Bounces Back with Win Over Hoyas
October 24, 2004 04:46 PM | General
October 24, 2004
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| Zolna |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team avenged a disappointing loss to Villanova on Saturday with a three game sweep of BIG EAST foe Georgetown on Sunday, Oct. 24, at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers defeated the Hoyas 3-0 (30-26, 30-25, 30-26) and improved their record to 15-9 overall and 2-2 in BIG EAST conference play.
The two teams opened the match with a back and forth game that had a total of 10 ties and five lead changes. WVU opened the contest with a 10-5 lead before allowing the Hoyas to score five straight to knot the match at 10. The two squads traded points until GU turned an 18-18 tie into a 24-21 advantage, causing head coach Veronica Hammersmith to utilize a timeout.
West Virginia came out of the timeout with a level of focus and determination that the Hoyas were unable to match. WVU outscored the visitors from Washington, D.C., by a margin of 9-2 to dramatically take game one by the score of 30-26.
Georgetown began game two with a 4-0 run to take its biggest lead of the contest. The Mountaineers countered by scoring 12 of the next 16 points to take a 12-8 lead. WVU led by as much as six points in the game and kept a sizeable advantage throughout. West Virginia used three late kills from junior Kelly Mullins to clinch a 30-25 victory.
WVU dominated the opening portion of game three and led by the score of 20-9 before Georgetown rallied to keep the game within striking distance. The Hoyas used a 15-5 run to make the score 25-24 before senior Alison Zemanski rallied the troops with two timely attacks. Freshman Megan Carroll, junior Stephanie Zolna and sophomore Gina Cusanelli scored the final three points of the game to give WVU a 30-26 win.
Zolna paced West Virginia with 14 kills while Mullins tallied 11. Zemanski and junior Julie Hockenson recorded nine apiece.
Senior Brandice Studnicka finished with 40 assists while sophomore Aurora Ebert-Santos led the Mountaineers defensively with a game-high 16 digs. Zolna registered 15 digs on the afternoon while Studnicka tallied 13 and Cusanelli registered 11.
The Mountaineers look to eclipse the .500 mark in BIG EAST play on Friday, Oct. 29, when they host Connecticut for a 7:30 p.m. match at the WVU Coliseum.
