ROCK HILL, S.C. – Mia Swanegan and Hannah Shreve each posted double-digit kills and hit over .500 as the West Virginia volleyball team registered its first sweep of the season with a 3-0 win over Davidson at the Winthrop Invitational on Saturday morning at the Winthrop Coliseum. WVU took the match in set scores of 25-8, 25-23, 25-17 to move to 5-6 on the season.

 

Swanegan had a team-high 13 kills, tying her personal best, and hit .524 on 21 total attacks. Shreve was just as effective, notching 11 kills and hitting for a .588 clip with just one error. Each recorded a solo block and a block assist, while Shreve added an ace as well. Their offensive effort powered the Mountaineers, who hit a season-best .356 with 43 kills. The Wildcats (4-8) produced 26 kill and hit for a .099 clip.

 

“I thought we played well, especially Hannah and Mia,” said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. “We picked up the intensity early on and carried it throughout the match. It’s always nice to win on the road, and these tournaments are a good way to prepare for Big 12 play.”

 

Caleah Wells added seven kills, while Morgan Montgomery had six. Wells also led the WVU blocking effort with four as WVU matched the Wildcats with 7.0 team blocks. Haley Roe led the defense with seven digs, and Gianna Gotterba added six with a trio of aces. Roe also aced a pair of serves for the Mountaineers, who totaled seven aces on the day. Brittany Sample had 43 assists and added four kills.

 

Hitting .500 and holding their opponent to a season-low eight points, the Mountaineers rolled to a 25-8 victory in set one. Three straight Gotterba aces helped WVU rattle off seven straight, taking a 7-1 lead. Swanegan found the court for a kill, then teamed with Wells for a block to make it 14-4 in favor of the Mountaineers. Four in a row put WVU up 18-5 on a Davidson attacking error before a trio of Montgomery kill put West Virginia at set point, 24-7. A ball handling error on the Wildcats gave the Mountaineers the set.

 

The Wildcats gave the Mountaineers a scare in set two, going on a 6-0 run with the Mountaineers at set point to come within one. WVU had taken a 24-17 lead on four kills each from Wells and Swanegan before a trio of Mountaineer miscues helped the Davidson rally. However, a Wildcat attack went into the net as West Virginia took the set 25-23. WVU hit just .154 in the set, but registered 14 kills.

 

West Virginia hit a blazing .515 in the third set, using seven kills from Shreve and six by Swanegan to take the 25-17 victory. Back-to-back service aces by Roe put WVU on top 6-2, and the team kept rolling from there, taking a 16-5 lead as Shreve and Swanegan combined for four consecutive kills. Swanegan found the court once again to make it 19-8 in favor of WVU, though the Wildcats took six of the next seven points to cut their deficit to six, down 20-14. Swanegan scored three of the last four point on kills as WVU took the set to win the match, 3-0.

 

The Mountaineers will conclude the tournament Saturday afternoon with a 4:30 p.m. match against Murray State.