Volleyball: Russo Aids WVU to Victory
September 11, 2010 07:11 PM | General
ECU BOX SCORE | CAMPBELL BOX SCORE
WINTSON-SALEM, N.C. – Junior Serinna Russo led the West Virginia University volleyball in two wins this afternoon at the Black and Gold Challenge hosted by Wake Forest.
The Mountaineers (6-2) defeated Campbell (1-8) in a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-13) this evening and East Carolina (0-8) in a 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 28-26) match this afternoon.
“This weekend we took advantage of another opportunity to get into a rhythm offensively and work through some areas of our defensive system that needed to be addressed,” coach Jill Kramer says. “We were all very pleased with how well we competed as a team today. We were in some tight situations late in sets and battled through. It was nice to see everyone step up to the challenge.”
Russo was named to the all-tournament team after posting 25 kills and 47 digs over the weekend. Senior Lauren Evans was also named to the all-tournament team with 25 kills and a .345 hitting average in the three matches.
Behind the serving of Russo, WVU started the day with a commanding 13-0 run over East Carolina in set one. The Mountaineers kept that pace with 12 team kills and a .321 hitting clip, as they ended the set after kills from junior Michelle Kopecky and senior Andrea Miller.
WVU continued to dominate in set two as it posted 16 kills as a team, while back-to-back kills from Norman secured the win.
ECU stepped up in set three as they took the lead for much of the set. However, tied at 26, sophomore Whitney Lee posted a kill for the lead and eventually the match.
Several Mountaineers played well in the match including Norman who posted eight kills with a .583 hitting average and Russo who recorded nine kills and 15 digs.
In the Mountaineers’ last match of the tournament, Campbell jumped out to an early 9-5 lead, until junior setter Kari Post dumped two-straight balls over the net, while Russo followed with two kills to tie the score. WVU continued to roll, as Russo posted five kills and seven digs to help her team win the set.
The Camels came back in set two and battled the Mountaineers to a 24-24 tie. Refusing to lose, the Mountaineers stopped Campbell with kills from senior Lauren Evans and Russo.
WVU carried the momentum into the third set as it posted 19 kills and a team hitting average of .567 to win the match.
Three Mountaineers reached double figures in kills including Russo who posted 11 kills and 19 digs in the match. Evans also played well with 13 kills and .423 hitting clip, while Kopecky recorded 12 kills.
Junior setter Kari Post also had a good match with 43 kills and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.
“Our post-match discussion following our match against Campbell quickly turned into a discussion focusing on Tuesday’s match versus Marshall,” the first-year head coach says. “We have been on the road back-to-back weekends, so we are very excited to pack the Coliseum this Tuesday to welcome Marshall to Morgantown.”
The Mountaineers return to the WVU Coliseum on Tuesday, Sept. 14, with a 7 p.m. match against in-state rival Marshall.
