Saturday, October 28
Austin, Texas
8:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Texas
Photo by: Steven Prunty
WVU Stays in Texas, Faces No. 3 Longhorns
October 27, 2017 05:56 PM | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas – The West Virginia University volleyball continues its swing through Texas, as the Mountaineers square off against the No. 3 Longhorns on Saturday, Oct. 28, in an 8 p.m. ET league tilt inside the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin.
The match will be streamed live on the Longhorn Network through WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
The Mountaineers (14-8, 3-6) and the Longhorns (16-2, 8-0) first meet in August of 2012, as Saturday marks the second match of the season between the two teams. Texas currently holds an 11-0 all-time advantage in the series. However, WVU took then-No. 6 Texas to five sets in September for the first time since 2014. Unfortunately, the loss snapped a 10-match win streak for the Mountaineers.
In facing the No. 3 Longhorns on Saturday, West Virginia will face an opponent ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll for the sixth time this season. Texas has been nationally ranked for all previous meetings and was ranked No. 1 for a pair of contests in 2013. WVU is still on the hunt for the program's first win over a top-25 foe and came close this season vs. Texas on Sept. 23.
Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey led the offense with 21 kills, hitting .250, with four service aces and 15 digs, as the Mountaineers fell to the No. 6 Longhorns, 3-2, on Sept. 23 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Three other Mountaineers finished the match in double digits, with West Virginia totaling 67 kills on 176 attacks for a .210 hitting percentage in the loss.
"They'll be ready," said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. "They are playing a lot better than when they played us here at home. Texas is a great team. They have all the pieces and the experience. I want to go in there and compete as hard as we can, and hopefully, we will walk away with great results."
Following its loss to TCU on Thursday, WVU continues to remain in fifth place in the Big 12 standings. Caffrey leads the Big 12 with 0.44 service aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (seventh) and kills (eighth). Additionally, Erin Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (fourth) and assists (fifth). The sophomore setter averages 0.26 service aces and 9.82 assists per set. Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor also ranks seventh in service aces, averaging 0.22 per set. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan ranks sixth in the league with 1.15 blocks per set, and freshman defensive specialist Alexa Hasting ranks ninth with 3.23 digs per set.
Saturday marks the Mountaineers 21st match in the Lone Star state as a member of the Big 12 Conference and has notched a 5-16 record since joining the league back in 2012. It also marks the third time this season they've made the trip, going 0-2, with previous meetings at Texas Tech (Sept. 27) and TCU (Oct. 26).
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes a break in league play with a nonconference match against Robert Morris on Tuesday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The match will be streamed live on the Longhorn Network through WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
The Mountaineers (14-8, 3-6) and the Longhorns (16-2, 8-0) first meet in August of 2012, as Saturday marks the second match of the season between the two teams. Texas currently holds an 11-0 all-time advantage in the series. However, WVU took then-No. 6 Texas to five sets in September for the first time since 2014. Unfortunately, the loss snapped a 10-match win streak for the Mountaineers.
In facing the No. 3 Longhorns on Saturday, West Virginia will face an opponent ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll for the sixth time this season. Texas has been nationally ranked for all previous meetings and was ranked No. 1 for a pair of contests in 2013. WVU is still on the hunt for the program's first win over a top-25 foe and came close this season vs. Texas on Sept. 23.
Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey led the offense with 21 kills, hitting .250, with four service aces and 15 digs, as the Mountaineers fell to the No. 6 Longhorns, 3-2, on Sept. 23 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Three other Mountaineers finished the match in double digits, with West Virginia totaling 67 kills on 176 attacks for a .210 hitting percentage in the loss.
"They'll be ready," said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. "They are playing a lot better than when they played us here at home. Texas is a great team. They have all the pieces and the experience. I want to go in there and compete as hard as we can, and hopefully, we will walk away with great results."
Following its loss to TCU on Thursday, WVU continues to remain in fifth place in the Big 12 standings. Caffrey leads the Big 12 with 0.44 service aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (seventh) and kills (eighth). Additionally, Erin Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (fourth) and assists (fifth). The sophomore setter averages 0.26 service aces and 9.82 assists per set. Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor also ranks seventh in service aces, averaging 0.22 per set. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan ranks sixth in the league with 1.15 blocks per set, and freshman defensive specialist Alexa Hasting ranks ninth with 3.23 digs per set.
Saturday marks the Mountaineers 21st match in the Lone Star state as a member of the Big 12 Conference and has notched a 5-16 record since joining the league back in 2012. It also marks the third time this season they've made the trip, going 0-2, with previous meetings at Texas Tech (Sept. 27) and TCU (Oct. 26).
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes a break in league play with a nonconference match against Robert Morris on Tuesday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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