Wednesday, October 18
Ames, Iowa
7:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Iowa State
Photo by: Jennifer Shephard
WVU Readies for No. 22 Iowa State
October 17, 2017 11:18 AM | Volleyball
The Mountaineers head to Ames, Iowa, for a Big 12 tilt with Iowa State on Wednesday evening.
AMES, Iowa – The West Virginia University volleyball team heads to Ames, Iowa, for a Big 12 tilt with Iowa State on Wednesday evening at the Hilton Coliseum. The Mountaineers (13-6, 2-4) and Cyclones are set to square off in a 7:30 p.m. ET match.
Under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, the Cyclones boast a 12-4 mark with a 3-3 record in Big 12 action. Jess Schaben leads the team with 3.00 kills per set, racking up 180 total swings on the year. Setter Monique Harris averages 8.42 assists per set, good for seventh in the league, while Genesis Miranda ranks fifth with 14 aces. Hali Hillegas leads the conference with 5.65 digs per set, as Iowa State leads the league with a team average of 17.38. The Cyclones also rank second in the league – one mark ahead of the Mountaineers – with 2.96 blocks per set, totaling 177 blocks thus far this season. Of note, three Cyclones rank inside the league's top 10 for blocks per set, with Grace Lazard coming in fourth with 1.13, followed by Alexis Conaway (1.10) and Avery Rhodes (1.09)
"They (Iowa State) are very good," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "They are very well coached. They have a lot of tradition. It's a tough place to play, but if we take care of our side of the court, good things will come."
This week marks the 14th all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and the Cyclones. Iowa State leads the series, 12-1, and took both matches last season. However, WVU took ISU to five sets in its first meeting of the 2016 season on Sept. 30, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Cyclones inside the WVU Coliseum. The two teams first met in 1994 before becoming conference opponents in 2012. ISU owns all 10 prior league matches.
"We just have to keep doing what we are doing," Sunahara said. "We have to keep working hard, individually and collectively. That's what we are going to do for the next couple days to get ready for Wednesday's match vs. Iowa State. It's a tough week. It's tough any time that you travel or are out of town. You just have to make the best of it."
The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-1 win over Oklahoma in Morgantown on Friday. West Virginia won in set scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-16 over the Sooners, defeating OU for the first time in program history. Four Mountaineers finished the night hitting .300 or better, with the team hitting .213 on the evening. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey paved the way for WVU with 19 kills (.343), followed by sophomore right side Natania Levak with nine. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit a team-high. 375, recording eight kills in the match. Sophomore setter Erin Slinde assisted on 39 kills, while senior Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 11 digs. Freshman middle blocker Katie DeMeo also recorded eight block assists for the Mountaineers, while Swanegan and Levak posted six apiece.
Of note, Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.43 aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points and kills (eighth). Additionally, Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces and assists (fourth). The sophomore setter averages 0.30 service aces and 10.28 assists per set. Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor also ranks ninth in service aces, averaging 0.21 aces per set. Swanegan ranks third with 1.17 blocks per set, while DeMeo ranks eighth with 1.07 blocks per set. Freshman defensive specialist Alexa Hasting also ranks ninth with 3.46 digs per set.
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .239 and holding its opponents to a .166 clip, while out blocking its opponents, 165.5-128.5. The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 in service aces, averaging 1.43 aces per set. West Virginia also ranks third in blocks per set (2.40) and fourth in hitting percentage (.239) and opponent hitting percentage (.166).
Following the match, the Mountaineers will return to Morgantown for another Big 12 tilt against Kansas State on Saturday, Oct. 21. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum. Saturday's match also marks the Mountaineers' annual pink match for breast cancer awareness. West Virginia will don pink jerseys in support of the cause. WVU Medicine will be sponsoring the match and collecting donations to the WVU Cancer Institute. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and can get the WVU sports official "pink" t-shirt with a donation of $10 or more to WVU Medicine.
"It's going to be a great day," Sunahara said. "It's a good event for a good cause. Kansas State is very good. Again, they have a lot of tradition, and they have been one of the best teams in the conference year-in and year-out. We look forward to being at home playing in front of our crowd.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Under head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch, the Cyclones boast a 12-4 mark with a 3-3 record in Big 12 action. Jess Schaben leads the team with 3.00 kills per set, racking up 180 total swings on the year. Setter Monique Harris averages 8.42 assists per set, good for seventh in the league, while Genesis Miranda ranks fifth with 14 aces. Hali Hillegas leads the conference with 5.65 digs per set, as Iowa State leads the league with a team average of 17.38. The Cyclones also rank second in the league – one mark ahead of the Mountaineers – with 2.96 blocks per set, totaling 177 blocks thus far this season. Of note, three Cyclones rank inside the league's top 10 for blocks per set, with Grace Lazard coming in fourth with 1.13, followed by Alexis Conaway (1.10) and Avery Rhodes (1.09)
"They (Iowa State) are very good," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "They are very well coached. They have a lot of tradition. It's a tough place to play, but if we take care of our side of the court, good things will come."
This week marks the 14th all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and the Cyclones. Iowa State leads the series, 12-1, and took both matches last season. However, WVU took ISU to five sets in its first meeting of the 2016 season on Sept. 30, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Cyclones inside the WVU Coliseum. The two teams first met in 1994 before becoming conference opponents in 2012. ISU owns all 10 prior league matches.
"We just have to keep doing what we are doing," Sunahara said. "We have to keep working hard, individually and collectively. That's what we are going to do for the next couple days to get ready for Wednesday's match vs. Iowa State. It's a tough week. It's tough any time that you travel or are out of town. You just have to make the best of it."
The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-1 win over Oklahoma in Morgantown on Friday. West Virginia won in set scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-16 over the Sooners, defeating OU for the first time in program history. Four Mountaineers finished the night hitting .300 or better, with the team hitting .213 on the evening. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey paved the way for WVU with 19 kills (.343), followed by sophomore right side Natania Levak with nine. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit a team-high. 375, recording eight kills in the match. Sophomore setter Erin Slinde assisted on 39 kills, while senior Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 11 digs. Freshman middle blocker Katie DeMeo also recorded eight block assists for the Mountaineers, while Swanegan and Levak posted six apiece.
Of note, Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.43 aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points and kills (eighth). Additionally, Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces and assists (fourth). The sophomore setter averages 0.30 service aces and 10.28 assists per set. Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor also ranks ninth in service aces, averaging 0.21 aces per set. Swanegan ranks third with 1.17 blocks per set, while DeMeo ranks eighth with 1.07 blocks per set. Freshman defensive specialist Alexa Hasting also ranks ninth with 3.46 digs per set.
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .239 and holding its opponents to a .166 clip, while out blocking its opponents, 165.5-128.5. The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 in service aces, averaging 1.43 aces per set. West Virginia also ranks third in blocks per set (2.40) and fourth in hitting percentage (.239) and opponent hitting percentage (.166).
Following the match, the Mountaineers will return to Morgantown for another Big 12 tilt against Kansas State on Saturday, Oct. 21. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum. Saturday's match also marks the Mountaineers' annual pink match for breast cancer awareness. West Virginia will don pink jerseys in support of the cause. WVU Medicine will be sponsoring the match and collecting donations to the WVU Cancer Institute. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and can get the WVU sports official "pink" t-shirt with a donation of $10 or more to WVU Medicine.
"It's going to be a great day," Sunahara said. "It's a good event for a good cause. Kansas State is very good. Again, they have a lot of tradition, and they have been one of the best teams in the conference year-in and year-out. We look forward to being at home playing in front of our crowd.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
MB/OH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballVB: BYU Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 04
2025 Volleyball Coal Rush Uniform Reveal
Thursday, October 02
Jen Greeny | Sept. 23 | ESPN+ Halftime Interview
Tuesday, September 30
VB: Dolphin Volleyball Classic Cinematic Recap
Sunday, September 21
