
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Drops a Big 12 Match at Iowa State
October 18, 2017 09:48 PM | Volleyball
The Mountaineers (13-7, 2-5) fall in set scores of 25-18, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-11.
AMES, Iowa – The West Virginia University volleyball team was unable to overcome offensive struggles, as the Mountaineers suffered a 3-1 Big 12 loss at Iowa State on Wednesday evening at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones (13-4, 4-3) took the match from the Mountaineers (13-7, 2-5) in set scores of 25-18, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-11.
Payton Caffrey had a team-best 13 kills for WVU, followed by Mia Swanegan with 11. Morgan Montgomery just missed double-digits with nine kills, while Natania Levak finished with eight. Briana Lynch also made her first Big 12 start tonight, racking up five total kills on 11 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage.
Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 18 digs, followed by Caffrey with 10. Emma Anderson also had 22 assists, splitting time at setter with Erin Slinde, who dished out 16 assists.
WVU finished the match hitting .123 with 50 kills and three team blocks.
Iowa State jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. A pair of errors from ISU and a kill from Montgomery brought the Mountaineers within three, trailing 8-5. Levak found the court twice to cut WVU's deficit to four, but ISU went on to score three straight, forcing WVU into a timeout down 18-11. West Virginia came out of the stoppage with guns blazing, scoring three of the next four points to come within five, 19-14. Swanegan and Caffrey each added a kill later in the set to cut the Mountaineers deficit to four (22-18), but it wasn't enough, as Iowa State scored three straight for a 25-18 win in set one.
The Mountaineers couldn't sustain an early lead, as the Cyclones came back to tie the second set at 4-4. Another attacking error gave WVU a 5-4 lead, but a 5-0 run by ISU put the Cyclones on top 9-5. West Virginia then capitalized on a couple of Mountaineer kills to come within two, down 9-7. However, the Cyclones used a pair of runs, including six in a row midway through the set, for a 20-10 advantage. WVU bounced back and used a 7-0 run of its own, with Caffrey recording a trio of kills in the process, to bring the Mountaineers with three. ISU called a timeout to regroup and rattled off five of the next six points for the 25-18 triumph and 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams traded points early in the third before Iowa State tallied six in a row for a 15-9 lead, forcing WVU into a timeout. The Mountaineers did not back down, though, clawing their way back into the set with a pair of late scoring runs. A kill from Caffrey and Lynch alongside two ISU attacking errors cut WVU's deficit to two, down 21-19. The teams traded points once again before Iowa State arrived at match point, holding a 24-22 advantage over West Virginia. The Mountaineers continued to be relentless and used four straight kills to finish off the set and capture the 26-24 triumph over the Cyclones.
Iowa State used a 5-0 run for a 6-3 lead early on before rolling to three straight points for the 10-6 advantage in the fourth set. WVU scored on an ISU service error, but two consecutive kills from Iowa State pushed the Cyclones' lead to 13-8. WVU's momentum continued to fade, though, as the match ended with Iowa State scoring 10 straight points for the 25-11 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
Jess Schaben and Alexis Conaway each recorded 18 kills for the Cyclones, who hit .287 with 53 kills and 19.5 team blocks.
Following tonight's 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.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Payton Caffrey had a team-best 13 kills for WVU, followed by Mia Swanegan with 11. Morgan Montgomery just missed double-digits with nine kills, while Natania Levak finished with eight. Briana Lynch also made her first Big 12 start tonight, racking up five total kills on 11 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage.
Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 18 digs, followed by Caffrey with 10. Emma Anderson also had 22 assists, splitting time at setter with Erin Slinde, who dished out 16 assists.
WVU finished the match hitting .123 with 50 kills and three team blocks.
Iowa State jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. A pair of errors from ISU and a kill from Montgomery brought the Mountaineers within three, trailing 8-5. Levak found the court twice to cut WVU's deficit to four, but ISU went on to score three straight, forcing WVU into a timeout down 18-11. West Virginia came out of the stoppage with guns blazing, scoring three of the next four points to come within five, 19-14. Swanegan and Caffrey each added a kill later in the set to cut the Mountaineers deficit to four (22-18), but it wasn't enough, as Iowa State scored three straight for a 25-18 win in set one.
The Mountaineers couldn't sustain an early lead, as the Cyclones came back to tie the second set at 4-4. Another attacking error gave WVU a 5-4 lead, but a 5-0 run by ISU put the Cyclones on top 9-5. West Virginia then capitalized on a couple of Mountaineer kills to come within two, down 9-7. However, the Cyclones used a pair of runs, including six in a row midway through the set, for a 20-10 advantage. WVU bounced back and used a 7-0 run of its own, with Caffrey recording a trio of kills in the process, to bring the Mountaineers with three. ISU called a timeout to regroup and rattled off five of the next six points for the 25-18 triumph and 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams traded points early in the third before Iowa State tallied six in a row for a 15-9 lead, forcing WVU into a timeout. The Mountaineers did not back down, though, clawing their way back into the set with a pair of late scoring runs. A kill from Caffrey and Lynch alongside two ISU attacking errors cut WVU's deficit to two, down 21-19. The teams traded points once again before Iowa State arrived at match point, holding a 24-22 advantage over West Virginia. The Mountaineers continued to be relentless and used four straight kills to finish off the set and capture the 26-24 triumph over the Cyclones.
Iowa State used a 5-0 run for a 6-3 lead early on before rolling to three straight points for the 10-6 advantage in the fourth set. WVU scored on an ISU service error, but two consecutive kills from Iowa State pushed the Cyclones' lead to 13-8. WVU's momentum continued to fade, though, as the match ended with Iowa State scoring 10 straight points for the 25-11 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
Jess Schaben and Alexis Conaway each recorded 18 kills for the Cyclones, who hit .287 with 53 kills and 19.5 team blocks.
Following tonight's 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.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
WVU
ISU
Kills
50
53
Errors
30
12
Attempts
163
143
Hitting %
.123
.287
Points
55.0
78.5
Assists
46
49
Aces
2
6
Blocks
3.0
19.5
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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