MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Despite four Mountaineers hitting .350 or higher, the West Virginia University volleyball team was swept in Big 12 play, 3-0, by Baylor on Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center. The Mountaineers (12-15, 3-10) fell to the Bears (20-8, 8-4) in set scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23.

 

“I thought we played better as the match went on, but it wasn't good enough,” said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. “Baylor is a good team, and they played well.”

 

Payton Caffrey had a team-best 10 kills, hitting .368 in the process. Morgan Montgomery hit .471 with nine digs while Natania Levak added eight. Hannah Shreve hit a team-high .545 with seven kills, and Mia Swanegan hit. 385, also adding seven kills. The Mountaineers hit .241 with 42 kills as a team.

 

The Mountaineers posted seven team blocks, with Shreve leading the charge with four block assists. Swanegan and Slinde each added three, with Slinde also registering 37 assists. Levak had a pair of blocks as well.

 

Gianna Gotterba led the floor defense with 12 digs and had the lone service ace of the day, while Caffrey and Slinde each had six. Cross added five, and Gabrielle Cuckovich had three.

 

A 6-0 Baylor run withstood a WVU timeout to give the Bears a 13-7 advantage. Caffrey and Levak each had a kill, but the Bears still held a five-point lead at 16-11. Caffrey again found the court, and Montgomery added a late kill but the Bears claimed back-to-back points to win the set on a Mountaineer attacking error, 25-17.

 

The Mountaineers kept things closer in the second, but trailed 8-5 early following back-to-back Baylor kills. A kill from Swanegan started a four-point WVU run that tied the set 15-15 on a block by Slinde and Shreve. Shreve put down a kill then paired with Montgomery for a block to give the Mountaineers an 18-17 lead. However, the Bears then scored five straight for a 23-19 advantage and soon after took the set, 25-21, on a kill for a 2-0 lead.

 

The teams traded points early in the third before Baylor tallied three in a row for a 13-11 lead as WVU called a timeout. The Mountaineers used a pair of Levak kills to take four straight, leading 15-14, before Baylor came back to tie the set 17-17. Montgomery and Shreve each found the court for a 20-18 Mountaineer lead as Baylor used a timeout. The teams traded points once again to a 23-23 tie before the Bears used back-to-back kills to claim the 25-23 win and take the match, 3-0.

 

Katie Staiger had 18 kills for Baylor, hitting .424 with seven digs. The Bears hit .303 with 44 kills and nine blocks.

 

West Virginia returns home to host No. 4 Kansas on Wednesday. The Senior Night match is set for a 6 p.m. start at the WVU Coliseum.