Volleyball: WVU Rebounds to Defeat Hoyas
October 11, 2009 03:11 PM | General
October 11, 2009
Results
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An excellent blocking effort fueled the West Virginia University volleyball team to a victory over BIG EAST foe Georgetown this afternoon at the McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.
“We are thrilled to win this match on the road. It took us five games to do it and 15-13 in the last set makes you really appreciate it,” Coach Veronica Hammersmith says. “We struggled, but we pulled it together in the end when we needed to and it was a good win.”
The Mountaineers (12-9, 2-4) defeated the Hoyas (11-11,1-5) in a 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-18, 18-25, 15-13) match.
The Hoyas jumped to an early 5-3 lead in set one, before the Mountaineers returned with back-to-back kills from juniors Andrea Miller and Lauren Evans to come back to within one. Georgetown then answered with a kill of their own as they dominated the rest of the set. The Hoyas posted 12 total kills, including one from Lindsay Wise to win set one.
WVU rebounded in set two, after two-straight service aces from senior outside hitter Kristina Gallahan gave the Mountaineers a 5-2 advantage. Up 20-16, Evans posted a kill, followed by solo block to put the Mountaineers in position to take set two. Sophomore Kylie Armbruster secured the set with her second kill of the match.
The Mountaineers carried the momentum to the third set, after an Armbruster gave them an 8-4 lead. WVU held the lead for the rest of the set, as a kill from Gallahan put the Mountaineers up 24-18. An attack error from the Hoyas put the Mountaineers up 2-1 in the match.
Refusing to fall, the Hoyas sent the match into five sets as Kiersten McKoy posted a kill to capture the win for Georgetown.
Blocking put the Mountaineers up 2-0 in the fifth set, after a solo block from Evans followed by another from Evans and sophomore setter Kari Post. The Hoyas then rebounded for the lead with a 3-0 run after a kill from Ashley Malone. WVU trailed the Hoyas for most of the set, until a kill from Norman and a service ace from Armbruster tied the match at 11. With the momentum in their favor, the Mountaineers won their second conference match of the season on a kill from Gallahan.
Evans lead WVU with 12 kills for a .385 hitting percentage, while Gallahan and Armbruster followed with nine kills each. Junior setter Bonnie West also had a good match with 20 digs.
As a team, the Mountaineers posted 16 blocks, 46 kills and 51 digs.
The Mountaineers return to home action next weekend with a 6 p.m. match against DePaul on Friday, October 16, and a 2 p.m. match against Notre Dame on Sunday, Oct. 18.
