Tuesday, October 31
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
15-9, 3-7
3
vs
0
Robert Morris
13-14, 7-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Morris | 10 | 23 | 15 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Sweeps RMU to Cap Nonconference Play
October 31, 2017 08:38 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In its final nonconference match of the season, the West Virginia University volleyball team ended a two-match losing streak with a 3-0 sweep over Robert Morris Wednesday evening at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The Mountaineers rolled to the victory in set scores of 25-10, 25-23 and 25-15.
West Virginia moves to 15-9 on the season (3-7 Big 12), finishing with a 12-2 mark in nonconference play. Of note, the squad is now 27-14 all-time in non-league matches under WVU coach Reed Sunahara. Robert Morris drops to 13-14 overall.
"It was a good win," Sunahara said. "We still have to get a lot better. We made a lot of mistakes, and they hit well. That combination doesn't help us. We missed six serves, and I don't think they were aggressive serves. That was disappointing, but we came out with a close victory in the second set and came out even stronger in the third. We just have to continue to compete and get better at our craft."
Freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch had a career-high 10 kills, hitting .769 for a team-best mark. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan added eight kills with a team-high four block assists. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey and sophomore right side hitter Natania Levak each notched seven kills on the evening, as WVU finished the night hitting .375 with 41 kills and 7.0 team blocks.
Senior libero Gianna Gotterba led the floor defense with seven digs, as Caffrey added five to the team total. Sophomore setter Erin Slinde also assisted on 29 of the team's 41 kills.
The Mountaineers got off to a hot start in the first set, hitting .409 with 12 kills. Following a service error from RMU, the Mountaineers took five straight for a 7-1 lead. WVU then rattled off nine in a row to make it 21-7 in favor of the Mountaineers. A RMU kill halted WVU's scoring run, but West Virginia went on to collect four of the next six points, winning on a kill from Levak for a 1-0 lead in the match.
Behind five kills from Caffrey, the Mountaineers took the second set, 25-23. She found the court three times for an early 8-7 lead, but the Colonials rattled off three straight in taking an 11-9 lead. West Virginia then went on to claim the next nine of 11 points for an 18-13 advantage, but Robert Morris continued to hang in the set, as the squads exchanged points down the stretch. The Colonials took advantage of two Mountaineer miscues and tallied four consecutive points to knot the score at 23-23. However, West Virginia used a kill from Levak and a ball handling error on RMU to capture the set and take a 2-0 match advantage.
A pair of scoring runs put WVU ahead 9-3 in the third set, before RMU used back-to-back Mountaineer attacking errors to cut its deficit to four. The squads then traded points, before West Virginia went on a 6-0 scoring run that included three kills from Swanegan to go up 22-11. Robert Morris notched back-to-back points late in the set to put the score at 23-15, but Evans and Lynch each found the court to give the Mountaineers the 25-15 win.
With today's victory over RMU, West Virginia now holds a 21-5 lead in the all-time series.
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.
"We have to get better in the gym," Sunahara said. "Oklahoma is good. They are playing well right now, and we need to up our game. Hopefully, we can do that within the next couple days and be ready on Saturday."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
West Virginia moves to 15-9 on the season (3-7 Big 12), finishing with a 12-2 mark in nonconference play. Of note, the squad is now 27-14 all-time in non-league matches under WVU coach Reed Sunahara. Robert Morris drops to 13-14 overall.
"It was a good win," Sunahara said. "We still have to get a lot better. We made a lot of mistakes, and they hit well. That combination doesn't help us. We missed six serves, and I don't think they were aggressive serves. That was disappointing, but we came out with a close victory in the second set and came out even stronger in the third. We just have to continue to compete and get better at our craft."
Freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch had a career-high 10 kills, hitting .769 for a team-best mark. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan added eight kills with a team-high four block assists. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey and sophomore right side hitter Natania Levak each notched seven kills on the evening, as WVU finished the night hitting .375 with 41 kills and 7.0 team blocks.
Senior libero Gianna Gotterba led the floor defense with seven digs, as Caffrey added five to the team total. Sophomore setter Erin Slinde also assisted on 29 of the team's 41 kills.
The Mountaineers got off to a hot start in the first set, hitting .409 with 12 kills. Following a service error from RMU, the Mountaineers took five straight for a 7-1 lead. WVU then rattled off nine in a row to make it 21-7 in favor of the Mountaineers. A RMU kill halted WVU's scoring run, but West Virginia went on to collect four of the next six points, winning on a kill from Levak for a 1-0 lead in the match.
Behind five kills from Caffrey, the Mountaineers took the second set, 25-23. She found the court three times for an early 8-7 lead, but the Colonials rattled off three straight in taking an 11-9 lead. West Virginia then went on to claim the next nine of 11 points for an 18-13 advantage, but Robert Morris continued to hang in the set, as the squads exchanged points down the stretch. The Colonials took advantage of two Mountaineer miscues and tallied four consecutive points to knot the score at 23-23. However, West Virginia used a kill from Levak and a ball handling error on RMU to capture the set and take a 2-0 match advantage.
A pair of scoring runs put WVU ahead 9-3 in the third set, before RMU used back-to-back Mountaineer attacking errors to cut its deficit to four. The squads then traded points, before West Virginia went on a 6-0 scoring run that included three kills from Swanegan to go up 22-11. Robert Morris notched back-to-back points late in the set to put the score at 23-15, but Evans and Lynch each found the court to give the Mountaineers the 25-15 win.
With today's victory over RMU, West Virginia now holds a 21-5 lead in the all-time series.
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.
"We have to get better in the gym," Sunahara said. "Oklahoma is good. They are playing well right now, and we need to up our game. Hopefully, we can do that within the next couple days and be ready on Saturday."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
RMU
WVU
Kills
23
41
Errors
19
11
Attempts
77
80
Hitting %
.052
.375
Points
28.0
51.0
Assists
21
36
Aces
2
3
Blocks
3.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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