WVU Falls in Four at Pacific

Monday, September 12

Stockton, Calif.

10:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

5-5

Pacific

5-5

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
West Virginia	25	15	23	23	1
Pacific	20	25	25	25	3

Swanegan-Main-093015.jpg

September 13, 2016 12:49 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

West Virginia Mountaineers

5-5

Final

Pacific Tigers

5-5

Final Stats

STOCKTON, Calif. – Unable to use early momentum, the West Virginia University volleyball capped its West Coast swing with a 3-1 loss at Pacific on Monday evening at the Spanos Center in Stockton, California. The Mountaineers (5-5) fell to the Tigers (5-5) in set scores of 25-20, 15-25, 23-25 and 23-25.

“It was a disappointing loss,” said coach Reed Sunahara. “We had a lot of chances and didn't take them. Our intensity and our focus need to be much better in order for us to play better. We need to capitalize on opportunities.”

WVU struggled offensively, hitting .148 with 45 team kills. Payton Caffrey led the offense with 14 kills, notching 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Katelyn Evans came up with nine kills while Hannah Shreve hit .227 with eight kills. Erin Slinde finished with the best attacking percentage of the night, hitting .714 with five kills on seven swings.

Mia Swanegan led the blocking effort with nine total blocks, followed by Natania Levak's five. Slinde, Evans and Shreve each finished with three as WVU totaled 12 on the night.

Four Mountaineers finished in double-digit digs, led by Gianna Gotterba's 17. Levak matched Caffrey's 10, while Taylor Cross added 12. Splitting time at setter, Haley Roe and Erin Slinde Finished with 19 and 18 assists, respectively. Roe and Caffrey each notched an ace for the Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers got off to a fast start, taking 4-0 lead on a pair of block assists and a kill by Swanegan. Using several Tiger attacking errors, WVU stretched its lead to 12-4. Back-to-back kills from Caffrey pushed the advantage to 10 at 14-4. Pacific scratched its way out of the hole, taking five of six points to cut the West Virginia lead to three at 19-16. Shreve and Caffrey each came up with a kill as a Pacific attack went long to bring up set-point for the Mountaineers at 24-20. Caffrey scored the ace as WVU picked up the set win by a score of 25-20.

The second set had vastly different feel, as WVU quickly found itself in a 6-2 hole after the Tigers scored five early kills. Levak assisted on a pair of blocks, and Shreve and Caffrey each notched a kill to bring the Mountaineers within two, down 8-6. However, the Tigers scored seven straight for a 15-7 advantage before Morgan Montgomery subbed in and stopped the streak with a kill. Though WVU took advantage of four late errors by the Tigers, they couldn't recover from the deficit and dropped the set, 25-15.

Caffrey and Swanegan found the court early in the third set as West Virginia took a 7-3 lead over the Tigers, who soon worked their way back to cut the Mountaineer advantage to one at 8-7. Caffrey added two more kills to her tally, but the Tigers tied the set at 12-12. Kills from Caffrey and Slinde made up a 3-0 run that provided separation between the teams, giving WVU a 20-17 lead. However, the Tigers came back to take a 24-23 lead on a kill. They added another for the 25-23 win, taking a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The Mountaineers found themselves off to another hot start in the fourth set, capitalizing on a trio of Pacific attacking errors in taking a 5-1 advantage. Consecutive kills from Evans kept WVU a few steps ahead, up 10-6, before Swanegan and Caffrey helped the Mountaineers take three in a row to put the lead at 19-11. Three more Tiger miscues pushed West Virginia in front, 23-17. Just when it looked like the Mountaineer would take the set and force a fifth, Pacific rallied for seven straight to win the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.

Three Tigers finished in double-digit kills, led by Lexi Elman's 20.

West Virginia returns to Morgantown to host Akron, Winthrop and Dartmouth in the WVU Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The first match starts at 4:30 p.m. Friday followed by the Mountaineers' tilt with the Winthrop Eagles at 7 p.m.