Volleyball Drops 3-1 Match to Iowa State
October 04, 2014 04:56 PM | General
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AMES, IOWA – Despite an improved blocking effort, the West Virginia University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to Iowa State in Big 12 action at the Hilton Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers fell in set scores of 25-21, 18-25, 17-25 and 16-25.
“I was really happy with the way our team came out in set one. We had great energy, despite being down early, and fought back to take it,” said coach Jill Kramer. “As the match progressed, our serving and passing digressed and allowed Iowa State to stay in the system too often. We’ll get back in the gym on Monday to work out some kinks there.”
After posting just one team block against Marshall on Wednesday, the Mountaineers (11-6, 1-2 Big 12) combined for 9.5 against the Cyclones (8-5, 1-2 Big 12). Hannah Shreve assisted on five blocks, while Jordan Anderson recorded a pair of solo blocks in addition to a pair of block assists. Nikki Attea, Caleah Wells, Lamprini Konstantinidou and Hannah Sackett each added a pair of block assists as well.
Anderson just missed a double-double, recording a team-best 15 kills with nine digs. It marked the 20th time in 47 occasions she has finished with ten or more kills in a match. Attea was close behind with 13 kills, hitting for a team-best clip of .414. Sackett added six kills, while Wells finished with five.
Including Anderson, a total of four players tied for the team lead with nine digs apiece. Anna Panagiotakopoulos had nine digs and an assist, while Gianna Gotterba had nine digs and a trio of assists at libero. Attea also just missed a double-double, digging nine balls in the match.
Konstantinidou had 41 assists in the match and recorded the squad’s only service ace of the day. The Mountaineers hit .148 with 45 kills.
Victoria Hurrt was one of three Cyclones to finish in double figures, posting 20 kills as Iowa State hit .299 with six team blocks. Catilin Nolan had 25 digs and Suzanne Horner finished with 56 assists.
Anderson and Attea led the Mountaineers in set one with six and four kills respectively, as WVU posted 4.5 team blocks. The teams kept things close throughout much of the set before Iowa State took a 13-10 lead on a kill. Three straight points from the Mountaineers gave them the 20-19 lead on a block from Anderson and Shreve. The Cyclones took a 21-20 lead on a WVU attacking error, but the Mountaineers rattled off five unanswered points to take the set 25-21 on a kill from Attea.
Wells and Anderson paced West Virginia in set two, with Anderson adding in a pair of solo blocks though the Mountaineers couldn’t overcome a Cyclone offense hitting .257. A 6-0 run gave Iowa State a 13-7 lead on a WVU attacking error before the Mountaineers scored four in a row to cut the deficit to two, down 13-11, on a block from Anderson. A pair of kills and an ace gave Iowa State a 22-17 advantage before Anderson found the court to end the Cyclones’ run. However, Iowa State scored the final three points to take the set 25-18 on an ace, tying the match 1-1.
The Cyclones’ offense came out blazing in set three, hitting .500 with 22 kills to the Mountaineers’ nine. Iowa State took a 7-3 lead on a kill, with WVU later tallying three straight to cut the deficit to one at 8-7. The Cyclones once again rattled of a trio of points in taking a 14-11 lead, but the Mountaineers answered with four straight to tie the set at 14-14. A 4-0 run late in the set pushed Iowa State in front 21-16 before the Cyclones put down four straight kills to take the set 25-17 and lead the match 2-1.
Hitting .250 in the set, Iowa State took a 4-1 to start the fourth stanza. The Mountaineers, who hit for a .108 clip, came back to tie things up 7-7 on an Iowa State error. Four points in a row gave the Cyclones an 11-7 before WVU cut the deficit to two at 12-10 on an ISU error. However, West Virginia couldn’t quite rally, as three in a row made it 21-13 for the Cyclones before they capitalized on a pair of WVU errors to take the set 25-16 and win the match 3-1.
The Mountaineers will return home for a three-match home stand, starting October 8 when they host Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. The match will mark WVU’s annual Dig Pink contest and is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.
“We’re excited to get back to Morgantown and compete in front of our home crown for a few weeks,” said Kramer.
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