MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Volleyball rivals West Virginia University and Marshall University will come together this week to host the 2016 Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The Mountaineers (1-2) and the Thundering Herd (2-2) will welcome the Indiana State Sycamores (2-1) and the Morehead State Eagles (2-1) to the Civic Center for the tournament, which starts at 10 a.m. Friday when West Virginia squares off with Indiana State.

 

Tickets will be available online and by phone through Ticketmaster or in-person at the Charleston Civic Center Box Office. The cost of tickets will be $5 per day for the general public, $3 per ticket for youth under 18, seniors (55 and over) and groups of 10 or more. Group tickets are only available in-person at the Civic Center Box Office.

 

“We’re looking forward to going down to Charleston and getting to play in front of our fans in that part of the state,” said coach Reed Sunahara. “We’re also excited for Hannah Shreve to play in her hometown as a senior. We have some good teams coming in, so it should be a fun and challenging weekend.”

 

Shreve will celebrate a homecoming this weekend as the Charleston native returns to play in front of family and friends. The middle blocker played for George Washington High before becoming the first West Virginia native in 10 years to play for the Mountaineers when she joined the team in 2013. Shreve has fond memories of the Charleston Civic Center as she led the Patriots to the Class AAA State Championship there in 2012. She also done much to make her hometown proud since arriving in Morgantown four years ago. An accounting major, she completed her undergraduate degree in three years and is currently pursuing a master’s. A Big 12 All-Academic honoree and recipient of the league’s prestigious Dr. Gerald Lage Award, she was named a 2016 WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior and carried the College of Business and Economics banner at the commencement ceremony in May.

 

Friday’s match with the Sycamores will mark the fourth meeting in program history between the two. WVU dropped a 3-0 contest in the first-ever meeting in 1985, but has won consecutive meetings to lead the series 2-1. The Mountaineers last faced the Sycamores in 2007 and are 0-1 in neutral site contests against Indiana State.

 

Later in the evening, the Mountaineers and the Thundering Herd compete for the Golden Ball Trophy in a match slated for a 7:30 p.m. start. West Virginia won a five-set thriller in Morgantown last season to take the trophy for the first time since 2010 and leads the series, 29-19. The WVU-Marshall rivalry is one of the longest running series in program history as the two first met during the Mountaineers’ first season of competition back in 1974.

 

Saturday will mark the fourth match in the West Virginia-Morehead State series and the first since 2013. The first tilt between the two came in 1985 with WVU taking a 2-1 neutral site win. The Mountaineers have gone on to lead the series, 6-4.

 

West Virginia opened the season last week at the Penn State Classic, dropping back-to-back matches to then-No. 9 Penn State (3-0) and then-No. 19 North Carolina (3-0) before claiming a 3-0 sweep of Georgia Southern. Freshman Payton Caffrey led the Mountaineers with 5.11 kills per set, earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week accolades.