MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – First-year head coach Reed Sunahara will get his first taste of Big 12 action on Friday when the West Virginia University volleyball team opens its league slate by hosting No. 2 Texas at the WVU Coliseum. The match is set for a 6 p.m. start.
The match is a Dollar Night, with tickets and select concessions just $1, with the first 200 fans receiving a free Big 12 t-shirt. Admission is free for all WVU students with a WVU student ID. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of hosting one of the top teams in the nation,” said Sunahara. “I think we got some good experience with our preseason tournaments, but this will be the true test as to how far we’ve come. As we’ve stressed all season, we look at every match as an opportunity to get better.”
The series between the Mountaineers and the Longhorns is relatively new, as the two did not meet until West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012. Texas has won all six of the previous meetings, with this Friday serving as the seventh contest between the two. The Longhorns took both matches last season, winning 3-2 in Morgantown and taking a 3-0 triumph in Austin. A perennial contender, Texas enters the match up ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll behind Penn State. The Longhorns are 11-1 on the season and are in the midst of a seven-match win streak. Their last loss came at the hands of No. 4 Florida by a score of 4-1. Only two teams have taken the Longhorns to five sets this season, as Texas defeated No. 4 Nebraska, 3-2, and No. 16 Arizona, 3-2. Five members of the Longhorn rotation average more than 2.00 kills per set, with Amy Neal posting 4.15 kills per set and Ebony Nwanebu averaging 4.40 kills per set. Four Longhorns have hit higher than .300 on the season, led by Mirta Baselovic (.541). Three boast more than a block per set, with Chiaka Ogbogu leading the way at 1.21 blocks per set. Setter Chloe Collins averages 10.83 assists per set while Cat McCoy leads the squad with 4.69 digs per set.
Last season’s meeting between No. 2 Texas and West Virginia in Morgantown was one for the ages, as the Mountaineers dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker on national television. West Virginia took the first two sets from Texas, taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the break. The Longhorns came back to win the final three, taking the fifth set 15-7. It would have marked WVU’s first ever win over a ranked team.
Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, the Mountaineers are 1-2 in conference openers. WVU has twice faced Texas in its first league match of the season, falling 3-0 in 2012 and 3-2 in 2014. The Mountaineers recorded their first-ever Big 12 victory in the 2013 league opener, taking a 3-1 win from Kansas State.
West Virginia is coming off a 3-1 week last week, including a 2-1 showing at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, South Carolina. WVU opened the week with a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over rival Marshall, and rolled to a three-match win streak with wins over Winthrop (3-1) and Davidson (3-0). Murray State halted the Mountaineers’ run, taking a 3-1 victory to cap the Winthrop Invitational on Saturday evening.
Sophomores Morgan Montgomery and Gianna Gotterba continue to improve with every match, as each set a new career-best last week. Montgomery posted a career-best 31 kills in the 3-2 win over Marshall - the most kills in a match by a Big 12 player this season. Gotterba was also at her best, digging a career-high 25 balls in the team’s 3-1 win at Winthrop.
