Volleyball Suffers Setback at No. 25 Oklahoma
November 01, 2014 11:06 PM | General
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NORMAN, Okla. – Hitting .244 with four service aces, the West Virginia University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback at No. 25 Oklahoma in at McCasland Field House in Norman on Saturday evening. The Mountaineers fell in 24-26, 17-25 and 17-25.
WVU (13-11, 3-7) tied its lowest offensive output of the season with 33 kills, though also recorded just 12 errors – its fourth lowest total of the year. The Mountaineers recorded six team blocks and 23 digs with four different players finishing with a service ace.
The Sooners (16-6, 7-2) were the fifth nationally ranked team West Virginia has faced this season. Ironically, Oklahoma is the only other team in the league that has faced that many opponents in the top-25. The Sooners hit .438 with 50 kills and six aces against the Mountaineers.
“I really like the way we came out in the first set,” said WVU coach Jill Kramer. “I think if we would’ve played with that type of determination and energy the entire match, the outcome could’ve been different. We’ll learn from tonight and get better from it.”
Hannah Sackett had a team-best 10 kills, hitting for a .474 clip along the way. She also contributed a pair of block assists. Nikki Attea had nine kills, hitting .217, to go along with eight digs and an ace. Caleah Wells had a trio of kills, hitting .250.
Jordan Anderson finished with eight kills on the evening, ending a 26-match streak of finishing with 10 or more kills. It marks the first time since November 21, 2013, that she has finished in single digits. Anderson also tied for the team lead with eight digs.
Leading the blocking effort was Hannah Shreve, who posted up for four block assists. Lamprini Konstantinidou also had a pair to go with 28 assists and two kills. Konstantinidou, Anderson, Attea and Gianna Gotterba each served an ace, with Gotterba adding a pair of digs.
Hitting .283 behind six kills from Attea, the Mountaineers dropped a tight first set. Back-to-back kills by Sackett gave WVU a 4-1 advantage that stretched to 9-4 on a Konstantinidou ace and a Sooner attacking error. Oklahoma tallied six straight points to take a 10-9 lead, but the Mountaineers countered with a kill from Attea to tie the set. The team traded points before a kill from Konstantinidou gave West Virginia the 18-16 lead. Anderson put down a kill to put the Mountaineers at set point with a 24-23 lead, but back-to-back kills from the Sooners gave them the 26-24 win.
However, West Virginia couldn’t maintain its offensive momentum in set two, hitting for a .043 clip with eight team kills. Taking a 7-4 advantage early on, the Sooners never seemed to lose control of the set. Sackett and Shreve teamed for a block to bring the Mountaineers within one, down 9-8, but a 3-0 run pushed OU in front 12-8. Back-to-back kills from Anderson, made it 17-13 with the Sooners still in front. Wells added a kill while Shreve and Sackett teamed for another block, but Oklahoma scored back-to-back points to take the 25-17 set victory.
The Mountaineers got back into the swing of things in set three, hitting .412 with just two errors, but couldn’t find a way to take the set. The Sooners claimed a 5-2 advantage on a kill before kills from Sackett and Anderson, along with an ace from Gotterba, brought WVU within two as the Mountaineers trailed 7-5. A 4-0 run put Oklahoma in front 11-5 before a serve into the net ended the Sooner streak. Evyn McCoy and Anderson teamed for a block before McCoy joined Attea for another, though West Virginia was still down 13-7. A 3-0 run for the Sooners gave them a 3-0 lead before a Sackett kill ended the run. Anderson and Konstantinidou each had a kill, but the Sooners served set-point soon after. The Mountaineers scored four in a row, including a kill and an ace by Anderson, to extend the match as the Sooners were still at set point with a 24-17 lead. However, a kill would give the Sooners the 25-17 set win for the 3-0 match victory.
The Mountaineers will return home to host Iowa State on Saturday, November 8, in a 4 p.m. (ET) match at WVU Coliseum.
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