Volleyball to Host Mountaineer Invitational
September 11, 2014 07:02 PM | General
 |
| Defensive specialist Gianna Gotterba is one of two freshman in the Mountaineers' starting line up. |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Putting a 6-match win streak on the line, the West Virginia University volleyball team will welcome four teams to the WVU Coliseum as part of the Mountaineer Invitational this Friday and Saturday.
Kent State (5-1 overall, 0-0 MAC), Seton Hall (5-2 overall, 0-0 Big East), Saint Francis (2-5 overall, 0-0 NEC) and Montana (0-6, 0-0 Big Sky) will travel to Morgantown for the second of WVU’s tournaments this season.
Live Stats | Live Video (WVU games only) | Twitter
Tournament Schedule
Friday
Saint Francis vs. Montana – 10 a.m.
Kent State at West Virginia – Noon
Seton Hall vs. Montana – 2 p.m.
Kent State vs. Saint Francis – 4:30 p.m.
Seton Hall at West Virginia – 7 p.m.
Saturday
Saint Francis at West Virginia – Noon
Montana vs. Kent State – 2 p.m.
Seton Hall vs. Saint Francis – 4:30 p.m.
Montana at West Virginia – 7 p.m.
Friday will be the 16th all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and the Golden Flashes, and the first since 2008. West Virginia owns an 11-4 advantage in a series that started back in 1977. However, Kent State won the last meeting by a score of 3-0 on Aug. 30, 2008. The Mountaineers last defeated KSU by a score of 3-1 in November of 2001.
Seton Hall is a familiar opponent for WVU, as the Mountaineers and the Pirates formerly faced off in league play as members of the Big East Conference until WVU’s departure in 2012. The squads have met 23 times prior to this weekend, with the Mountaineers edging the Pirates 12-11 in the all-time series, which started in 1985. Seton Hall took the last meeting between the two by a score of 3-1 on September 25, 2011.
The Mountaineers and the Red Flash first started competition in 2000, with Saturday marking the 10th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Mountaineers have won seven of the nine contests, though Saint Francis took the last game by a score of 3-2 on August 24, 2012.
Saturday will mark the first ever meeting between the Mountaineers and the Grizzlies. Montana, who is 0-6 to start the season, once recruited current WVU outside hitter Hannah Sackett, who hails from Somers, Montana.
A pair of Mountaineers find themselves near the top of the national leader boards as the NCAA released their first Division I statistical rankings of the season on September 8. Freshman setter Lamprini Konstantinidou sits fifth in all of NCAA Division I with 12.29 assists per set, trailing fourth by .01. Outside hitter Jordan Anderson ranks fifth in the nation in kills per set, averaging 5.14. Anderson is also sixth in the country with 5.71 points per set.
Since dropping their season opener to BYU on August 29, they Mountaineers have bounced back to win six straight matches. Even more impressively, WVU has yet to drop a set in any of its contests and has now won 18 straight. The Mountaineers won 20 straight set last season as part of a 7-match win streak.
Jordan Anderson was named the MVP of the Niagara Invitational after WVU went 3-0 to win the tournament. Anderson hit .366 and averaged a team-best 5.22 kills per set throughout the tournament to earn the honor. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Nikki Attea, who hit .468 with 2.89 kills per set and three blocks, and Lamprini Konstantinidou, who led the Mountaineers with 12.5 assists per set and three aces.
Alumni Series | Violet Hewett
Friday, May 01
SWIM: What it Means to Represent West Virginia
Wednesday, April 29
SWIM: What it Means to Become a Mountaineer
Wednesday, April 29
Gold-Blue Spring Festival Fan Recap
Sunday, April 19
