WVU Drops Heartbreaker to Herd

Friday, September 2

Charleston, W.Va.

7:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

2-3

Marshall

4-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Marshall University	25	20	26	26	15	3
West Virginia	17	25	28	24	7	2

Caffrey-Main-090216.jpg

September 02, 2016 10:31 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Twenty-seven kills from Payton Caffrey weren't enough as the West Virginia University volleyball team dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to rival Marshall on Friday evening at the Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center. The Mountaineers (2-3) fell in set scores of 17-25, 25-20, 28-26, 24-26 and 7-15.

“I thought we had some good momentum coming out of the second and third sets,” said coach Reed Sunahara. “Unfortunately, we just couldn't finish. That's something we need to work on. Tomorrow is another chance to get better.”

Caffrey hit .277 with nine errors on 65 swings as WVU hit .193 with 64 team kills in the match. Morgan Montgomery finished with 10 kills, and Erin Slinde hit .800 and added eight kills to the scoresheet. Mia Swanegan, Natania Levak and Hannah Shreve each tallied six.

Levak notched six of the team's seven aces, with Gabrielle Cuckovich adding the final one. Slinde and Haley Roe again split time at setter, dishing out 26 and 23 assists, respectively.

Levak also led the blocking with five block assists, while Shreve added four. Julia Avoletta saw her first action of the season with three blocks and a kill. Gianna Gotterba had a team-high nine digs to lead the floor defense, while Levak and Cuckovich contributed nine and eight, respectively.

The Herd jumped out to a 13-6 lead in set one. Swanegan contributed a kill and a pair of blocks, but the Mountaineers still trailed by four. Despite hitting .407 with 14 kills in the set, West Virginia couldn't overcome the early deficit and dropped the set 25-17.

Using seven kills and a pair of aces, West Virginia raced to a 13-2 advantage in the second set. Caffrey crushed a pair of kills as the Mountaineers increased their lead to 12 at 17-5. A 5-0 run by Marshall cut the WVU lead to 19-12, and another kill from Caffrey had WVU serving set-point with a 24-14 lead. Withstanding 6-0 rally from the Herd, the Mountaineers earned the 25-20 win to tie the match 1-1.

Marshall put some early points on the board in set No.3, but West Virginia rattled off five in a row to take a 9-6 advantage. The Thundering Herd returned the favor with a 6-0 run for a 14-12 lead. Three late attacking errors on Marshall put WVU on top, 21-20, though the Herd came back to tie the score on a kill. The teams traded points before a solo block by Caffrey gave the Mountaineers the 28-26 win to tie the match 1-1.

Levak scored three service aces as the Mountaineers claimed a 7-5 lead to start the fourth set. A block and three straight kills from Marshall evened the score at 9-9 and the teams went back-and-forth from there. A trio of Marshall miscues tied the set, 24-24. However, after eight ties and five lead changes, a WVU attacking error handed the set to the Thundering Herd, 26-24, to tie the match 2-2.

For the second time on the day, the Mountaineers headed into a fifth set. A pair of kills from Slinde and another from Caffrey put the score at 6-6 before the Herd scored five straight to for an 11-6 advantage. WVU never recovered, as Marshall tallied four in a row for the 15-7 win to take claim the 3-2 win.

Cassie Weaver had a team-high 14 kills for the Herd, while Madison Hill added seven blocks.

The Mountaineers return to the Civic Center on Saturday when they face Morehead State at 10:30 a.m. in their final match of the tournament.