Team Effort Fuels Mountaineers
August 28, 2010 09:45 PM | General
August 28, 2010
HOWARD BOX SCORE | BUFFALO BOX SCORE
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| Jill Kramer |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A solid team effort led the West Virginia University volleyball team to two wins today, in the first day of competition of the WVU Classic at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (2-0) first defeated Howard in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) match this afternoon, and then defeated Buffalo this evening in a 3-1 (26-28, 25-13, 25-22, 26-24) match.
“Today was definitely a team effort,” first-year coach Jill Kramer says. “A lot of people had an impact today and the biggest thing is that even though we got off to a slow start, we pulled it together as a group. Even when it got tight in the end, we were able to finish it.”
With 48 team kills and 55 team blocks, the Mountaineers looked solid in their first match of the day against Howard. Tied at 13 in the first set, a kill by senior captain and middle blocker Lauren Evans sent WVU on a 4-0 run that fueled the team for the rest of the set.
WVU carried that momentum through sets two and three as it never lost the lead once. Several Mountaineers stepped up in the win, including junior setter Kari Post and junior outside hitter Serinna Russo.
Both recorded a double-double in the match, as Post recorded 37 assists and 11 digs and Russo posted 10 kills and 10 digs.
The Mountaineers’ second match of the day proved to be just as exciting, as Evan led the team with 12 kills, while senior libero Bonnie West recorded 21 digs.
In set one, WVU rallied back from an 18 -24 deficit to tie the score after back-to-back kills from Post and Evans. However, despite their best efforts, the Bulls managed to still win the set.
Set two turned in favor of the Mountaineers, as they dominated in serving with four service aces, including three from junior outside hitter Michelle Kopecky.
Junior Kylie Armbruster and Russo posted five kills each in set three to aid WVU a commanding lead and a victory in the set. Then, in set four, with the score tied at 24, Evans and Post once again stepped up with back-to-back kills to end the match.
Overall, Evans led the team today with 19 kills, while Post recorded 74 assists and West posted 41 digs.
In other matches, Buffalo defeated Youngstown State, 3-0 and Akron defeated the Penguins, 3-0.
Action is set to continue tomorrow with Buffalo and Howard at 11 a.m. WVU will face Youngstown State at 1:30 p.m. and Akron 7 p.m.
