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Mountaineers Set for Trio of Matches
September 03, 2015 12:33 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia volleyball team heads out on their second road trip of the young season this weekend when the Mountaineers travel to Indianapolis for a trio of matches at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, which is slated to start Friday afternoon at The Jungle.
WVU opens play at the tournament with a tilt with Eastern Michigan at 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. The team returns to the court on Saturday for a 10 a.m. match against Charlotte before taking on host IUPUI at 6:30 p.m. that evening.
“We have three matches against three very good teams,” said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. “We have the opportunity to build upon a few things from last weekend. We’re just looking to get better each and every day.”
Friday marks the first ever meeting between WVU and EMU. The Eagles enter the tournament 2-1 overall under first-year head coach Kimi Olson. The Eagles swept both Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati last weekend before falling to Xavier, 3-1. Stacey Perinar leads the team with 4.90 kills per set while Cassie Haut is the blocking leader at 1.50 blocks per set.
This weekend is also the first meeting on record between the Mountaineers and the Charlotte 49ers. The 49ers also enter this weekend 2-1, earning 3-0 wins over Davidson and Asheville while falling to USC Upstate, 3-0. Sarah McDonald paces the offense with 3.22 kills per set, while Marshae Bradbury averages 1.57 blocks per set for a total of 11 on the season.
West Virginia will face IUPUI for just the second time in program history on Saturday. The Mountaineers hosted the Jaguars at last season’s Gold & Blue Player’s Challenge in Morgantown, earning a 3-0 victory. The Jaguars bring a 2-2 mark into the tournament, earning a 3-0 win over Ball State on Wednesday. After opening the season with a 3-1 win over Little Rock, the Jags suffered a 3-0 setback to No. 15 Kentucky and dropped a 3-0 contest to Michigan State. Kaitlyn Hickey has put up an impressive 5.10 kills per set, while Abby Horn leads the blocking effort with 1.57 per set.
Though two of the opponents on this weekend’s schedule may be new to the Mountaineers, the team has faced opponents from both the MAC (EMU) and Conference USA (Charlotte). Most notably, West Virginia has a long-running series against C-USA member and in-state rival Marshall, with WVU leading the series 28-19. WVU has also faced UAB and Western Kentucky for a 30-19 record vs. C-USA. The MAC is another familiar opponent, as West Virginia is 52-39 all-time against MAC opponents. The Mountaineers picked up wins over Toledo and Kent State last season at home, and though Coach Sunahara was not at the helm of the team in 2014 he is also familiar with the MAC. Sunahara spend the 2014 season as the head coach of MAC program Buffalo.
The Mountaineers opened the season with a 3-2 win over Oakland last Friday before suffering a pair of 3-0 setbacks to George Washington and Michigan on Saturday at the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor. Morgan Montgomery led the team with 3.18 kills per set for a total of 35 – just three shy of her 2014 season total of 38. Caleah Wells hit a team-best .345 to earn all-tournament team honors.
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