Mountaineers Go 1-1 in Day Two of WVU Invite
September 19, 2009 09:59 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
Sept. 19, 2009
Princeton | Duquesne
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team went 1-1 today at the WVU Invitational, with a win over Princeton and a loss to Duquesne.
“We’ve had a pretty good weekend so far,” coach Veronica Hammersmith says. “We won two matches and lost one, but I think we have played hard and learned a lot. Overall, I am pleased with how we have been playing. We are a little disappointed in this last match, but we are working hard, and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”
In their first match of the day, the Mountaineers (9-4) defeated Princeton (1-8) in a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 11-25, 25-18) match.
The Mountaineers battled with the Tigers in set one, tying on 10 different occasions. Down 19-22, a few errors from the Tigers tied the set at 22. Sophomore setter Kari Post then took charge as she landed a kill to put the Mountaineers on top, while junior middle blocker Lauren Evans posted a kill to end the set.
The Tigers fought back in set two, as the two teams once again found themselves tied at 22. This time, junior middle blocker Abby Norman recorded the kill to give the Mountaineers the momentum, while senior outside hitter Abby Raines ended the set with a kill of her own.
WVU struggled in set three on errors, as the Tigers sent the match into four sets. The Mountaineers then came back to dominated in set four with 13 kills and 27 digs, to end the match.
Junior libero Bonnie West led the Mountaineers against the Tigers with a career-high 38 digs. Evans also played well with 10 kills and four service aces, while Post led with 36 assists.
In their last match of the day, the Mountaineers fell to Duquesne in a 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24) match.
In set one, the Mountaineers found themselves down 18-24, after a strong offensive effort from the Dukes. The Mountaineers did their best to come back after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Kylie Armbruster, followed by one from senior outside Kristina Gallahan, but despite their best efforts, a kill from Duquesne’s Sara Scheirman captured the set for the Dukes.
Duquesne returned with the same momentum in the second set, as they jumped to an early 6-11 lead. Junior Abby Norman then posted a kill, while Gallahan recorded an excellent dig followed by a service ace to put the Mountaineers back in the game. WVU went on several runs but could not hold off 16 aces and 22 digs from the Dukes.
WVU rebounded to lead all of set three with 16 kills and four team blocks. With the score at 23-21, a kill from junior outside hitter Andrea Miller, followed by one from Gallahan gave the Mountaineers the win. However, the Dukes returned strong in set four to win the match.
Gallahan led the Mountaineers in the match with her first double-double of the season, as she posted 11 kills and 10 digs, while Post recorded 48 assists.
The Mountaineers are set to conclude the WVU Invitational tomorrow with a 2:30 p.m. match against George Mason.
