Tuesday, October 31
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Robert Morris
Photo by: Jennifer Shephard
WVU Welcomes Robert Morris on Halloween
October 30, 2017 04:47 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Looking to bounce back from a two-match skid in Texas, the West Virginia University volleyball team welcomes Robert Morris to the WVU Coliseum to cap its nonconference schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET in Morgantown.
Fans who wear their costumes to the match will be admitted for free. In addition, the first 250 fans will receive a Mountaineers Trick-or-Treat bag and candy. Tickets for Tuesday's game are available by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7) dropped two Big 12 matches on the road last week, suffering a 3-1 loss at TCU on Oct. 26 and falling to No. 3 Texas in three sets on Oct. 28. The Colonials (13-13, 7-4) collected a 3-0 sweep at Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, New Jersey, on Oct. 28.
"We have to get back on track," said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. "It was a tough weekend, but I thought we played a lot better Saturday night. Hopefully, we can use that and take advantage of what we did well. There are still some stuff that we need to work on, and hopefully, we can work on that tomorrow night. They'll be hungry to play. We talked about it over the weekend. We just have to make sure we continue to take care of business when we are at home."
West Virginia is 20-5 all-time against Robert Morris, as the Mountaineers picked up a 3-0 victory in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, last season. West Virginia also holds a 14-2 mark against the Colonials at home, collecting its last win against RMU in Morgantown on Oct. 16, 2013. The series dates back 37 years ago to 1980, with WVU taking a 2-0 win in the inaugural matchup before claiming the next 10 meetings as well.
Of note, the Mountaineers enter the match with an 11-2 mark in nonconference play and are 2-1 at home this year. They are 26-14 all-time in non-league matches under Sunahara.
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .218 and holding its opponents to a .187 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.46 service aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (sixth) and kills (eighth). Sophomore setter Erin Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (tied for third) and assists (fifth), averaging 0.28 service aces and 9.86 assists per set. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan also ranks sixth in the league with 1.12 blocks per set.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for a match against the Sooners (5-18, 2-8) in an 8 p.m. ET league tilt. The Mountaineers will play against Oklahoma for the second time this season, with the Sooners holding an 11-1 all-time series advantage. WVU most recently took down OU for the first time in program history, defeating the Sooners in a four-set battle on Oct. 13 inside the WVU Coliseum.
"Oklahoma is playing really well right now," Sunahara said. "They went five sets at Kansas, and they played Texas tough. They are a handful at home. They have a great thing going there. We just want to go in there and compete as hard as we can. We have to continue to get better with every match."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Fans who wear their costumes to the match will be admitted for free. In addition, the first 250 fans will receive a Mountaineers Trick-or-Treat bag and candy. Tickets for Tuesday's game are available by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7) dropped two Big 12 matches on the road last week, suffering a 3-1 loss at TCU on Oct. 26 and falling to No. 3 Texas in three sets on Oct. 28. The Colonials (13-13, 7-4) collected a 3-0 sweep at Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, New Jersey, on Oct. 28.
"We have to get back on track," said WVU coach Reed Sunahara. "It was a tough weekend, but I thought we played a lot better Saturday night. Hopefully, we can use that and take advantage of what we did well. There are still some stuff that we need to work on, and hopefully, we can work on that tomorrow night. They'll be hungry to play. We talked about it over the weekend. We just have to make sure we continue to take care of business when we are at home."
West Virginia is 20-5 all-time against Robert Morris, as the Mountaineers picked up a 3-0 victory in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, last season. West Virginia also holds a 14-2 mark against the Colonials at home, collecting its last win against RMU in Morgantown on Oct. 16, 2013. The series dates back 37 years ago to 1980, with WVU taking a 2-0 win in the inaugural matchup before claiming the next 10 meetings as well.
Of note, the Mountaineers enter the match with an 11-2 mark in nonconference play and are 2-1 at home this year. They are 26-14 all-time in non-league matches under Sunahara.
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .218 and holding its opponents to a .187 clip. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.46 service aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (sixth) and kills (eighth). Sophomore setter Erin Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (tied for third) and assists (fifth), averaging 0.28 service aces and 9.86 assists per set. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan also ranks sixth in the league with 1.12 blocks per set.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for a match against the Sooners (5-18, 2-8) in an 8 p.m. ET league tilt. The Mountaineers will play against Oklahoma for the second time this season, with the Sooners holding an 11-1 all-time series advantage. WVU most recently took down OU for the first time in program history, defeating the Sooners in a four-set battle on Oct. 13 inside the WVU Coliseum.
"Oklahoma is playing really well right now," Sunahara said. "They went five sets at Kansas, and they played Texas tough. They are a handful at home. They have a great thing going there. We just want to go in there and compete as hard as we can. We have to continue to get better with every match."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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