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Mountaineers to Face No. 15 Kansas
October 02, 2015 11:31 AM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Heading out on the first Big 12 road trip of the season, the West Virginia University volleyball team will travel to Lawrence, Kansas, to face the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday in a 5 p.m. ET match at the Horejsi Family Events Center. The match will be broadcast on ESPNU.
“We’re not where we want to be, but we’re using every practice and every match as an opportunity to improve,” said coach Reed Sunahara. “Kansas is a strong team. There’s a reason they’re nationally ranked and undefeated. However, we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The two meet for the ninth time on Saturday, with six of their previous meetings coming as part of conference play. The series started in 1999 at the WVU Coliseum, with the Jayhawks taking a 3-1 win. The two met once more in nonconference action as KU grabbed a 3-1 over WVU in 2000 in Kansas before the two became conference foes. The Jayhawks lead the series, 8-0.
The No. 15-ranked Jayhawks enter the match undefeated with a 14-0 overall record and a 2-0 mark in conference play. Kelsie Payne leads the offense at 4.02 kills per set, hitting an impressive .402 on the season. Tiana Dockery (3.35 k/s) and Madison Rigdon (3.15 k/s) also boast more than three kills per set. Taylor Soucie averages a team-best 1.20 blocks per set, while Cassie Wait has posted a team-high 5.11 digs per set to lead the defense.
Both teams’ most recent match was against TCU, though the two came away with different results. Kansas earned a 3-0 win over the Horned Frogs, finishing with 51 kills to TCU’s 23 and hitting .234 with 7.0 team blocks in the win. The Mountaineers dropped a 3-1 contest to TCU on Wednesday, hitting for a .114 clip with 50 kills and 11.0 team blocks. Morgan Montgomery led the way with 14 kills, while Mia Swanegan tied her career best with 13 and added four blocks.
Swanegan, a sophomore middle blocker, will see a few familiar faces in the crowd this weekend, as Lawrence is less than 60 miles from her hometown of Blue Springs, Missouri, where she starred at Blue Springs South High School. It’s the second straight game she will see familiar faces - Swanegan spent her freshman year with the Horned Frogs.
Since joining the league in 2012, WVU is 1-2 in their first league road match of the season. Interestingly enough, the Mountaineers’ first-ever Big 12 road contest took place in the state of Kansas against a team ranked 15th in the nation - though it was in Manhattan against the Kansas State Wildcats. The Mountaineers lost, 3-0, and fell to TCU in Fort Worth by a score of 3-1 in 2013. WVU topped Texas Tech, 3-1, in Lubbock last season to open their league road slate.
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