Mountaineers Set for WVU Classic
August 26, 2010 01:33 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
August 26, 2010
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| Lauren Evans |
The Mountaineers start competition on Saturday when they take on Howard at 1:30 p.m., followed by Buffalo at 7 p.m. Then, on Sunday, WVU is set to face Youngstown State at 1:30 p.m. and Akron at 7 p.m.
The Mountaineers return 11 letterwinners this season, including five starters from last season. Also joining the squad this season is WVU’s third head volleyball coach, Jill Kramer.
“We are excited about our first match in the Coliseum,” Kramer says. “We are looking forward to playing someone other than ourselves, and looking forward to reaping all of our hard work in the gym.”
Seniors Lauren Evans and Bonnie West will lead the team this season as captains. Evans, is second team all-BIG EAST member, while West is currently third on WVU’s list for most digs in a career with 1,450, behind Michelle Domas (1,630) and Aurora Ebert-Santos (1,561).
The Bison enter the 2010 season led by Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year, senior Gazelle d’Artois. An outside hitter from Newhall, Calif., d’Artois finished second in the conference in 2009 in kills per set (3.76) and in points per set (4.23).
Buffalo was picked to finish third in its conference, as it returns six players from last season and adds the best recruiting class in the school’s history after being recognized by Prepvolleyball.com.
The Mountaineers own an overall 34-13 combined record over this weekend’s competition. WVU is 2-0 against Howard, 7-0 against Buffalo, 15-4 over Youngstown State and 10-9 against Akron.
Three of the five teams competing this weekend have first-year head coaches. WVU (Jill Kramer), Youngstown State (Krista Burrows) and Howard (Dawn Barnes).
For live stats and live video streaming of this weekend’s matches, visit www.MSNsportsNET.com.
