WVU Downs Sycamores in Five

Friday, September 2

Charleston, W.Va.

10:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Indiana State

Swanegan-Main-091915.jpg

September 02, 2016 01:41 PM | Volleyball

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Trailing two sets to none, the West Virginia University volleyball team won three straight to claim a thrilling 3-2 win over Indiana State in the first match of the Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center on Friday morning. The Mountaineers earned the win in set scores of 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22 and 15-13.

Behind 27 kills from reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week Payton Caffrey, the Mountaineers hit .231 with 58 kills. Haley Roe had 33 of the squad's 52 assists, with Erin Slinde adding 13. Morgan Montgomery and MaTia Hughes each had a pair of service aces for WVU, who totaled five in the match. Montgomery also tallied 11 kills, hitting .286.

Mia Swanegan had eight total blocks as the Mountaineer posted 15.0 team blocks in the match. Natania Levak had seven, while Hannah Shreve notched six blocks to go with five kills. Levak hit .381 with nine kills in the match.

Gianna Gotterba led the floor defense with 20 digs, while Gabrielle Cuckovich chipped in with 14. Taylor Cross also had nine.

The freshmen contributed early in the first set, as Caffrey had a trio of kills and Levak found the court twice to give WVU an 8-7 lead. Three in a row by the Sycamores put them ahead 13-10. The teams knotted the score on six occasions with three lead changes before a late 4-0 run pushed Indiana State in front, 20-15. A kill from Caffrey extended the set with Indiana State at set point, but in the end the Sycamores took the 25-20 win.

Out-hitting the Sycamores .286-.214, the Mountaineers took a 13-9 advantage on a service ace from Gotterba following a block by Swanegan and Levak. Swanegan then teamed with Slinde for a block and Caffrey put one through the pins to keep West Virginia in front 19-15. However, Indiana State rattled off eight in a row to take a 23-19 lead. Back-to-back kills gave the Sycamores the 25-22 win for the 2-0 advantage in the match.

The turning point for WVU came in the third set, as the Mountaineers hit .318 with 11 kills. A kill by Montgomery started a 6-0 run that put West Virginia in front 20-16. The Mountaineers then used three straight ISU errors to take a 24-18 advantage. After 13 ties and six lead changes, Montgomery served an ace to win the set, 25-18, for the Mountaineers.

Looking to carry the momentum into the fourth set, WVU struggled offensively with an attacking percentage of .143 but used 4.0 team blocks in earning the win. Indiana State held the advantage for most of the set before and ace from Hughes and back-to-back kills from Montgomery evened the score at 16-16. An ace by Montgomery and a service error on ISU pushed West Virginia in front, 20-19. Caffrey put down a pair of kills before Montgomery won the set on a kill, 25-22, to tie the match score 2-2 and force a fifth set.

After trading points to an 8-8 tie, Indiana State took an 11-8 lead on a pair of kills and an ace. An ISU service error and a block from Shreve and Levak put the Mountaineers at set-point with a 14-13 lead. Roe then sent it over the net for the kill for a 15-13 victory in the set and a 3-2 comeback win in the match.

Bree Spangler and Kynedi Nalls each had 13 kills for Indiana State, while Rachel Griffin and Cassie Kawa each had four blocks.

The Mountaineers will square off with cohost and rival Marshall at 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center.