Wednesday, October 4
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
12-5, 1-3
1
vs
3
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Kansas
15-2, 4-0
1
2
3
4
F
Kansas
28
25
17
25
3
West Virginia
26
22
25
17
1
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Drops Big 12 Match to No. 11 Kansas
October 04, 2017 09:46 PM | Volleyball
The Mountaineers took the loss in set scores of 26-28, 22-25, 25-17 and 17-25, moving to 12-5, 1-3 on the season
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Despite ending the night with four Mountaineers in double digits, the West Virginia University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to No. 11 Kansas on Wednesday evening at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The Mountaineers, who move to 12-5, 1-3 on the season, took the loss in set scores of 26-28, 22-25, 25-17 and 17-25 to the Jayhawks (15-2, 4-0).
"I thought we did some nice things out there, but we weren't consistent enough," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "When you play a team like Kansas, you have to be consistent all the time. We talk to our team about being good all the time, and that's what we have to do. Every time we have a match or practice, it is a learning experience, and we need to learn from today."
Four Mountaineers landed in double digits, as sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Evans recorded a team-high 15 kills on the evening. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit a team best .310 with 14 kills. In addition, sophomore right side Natania Levak finished with 11 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey rounded out the team in double digits with 10.
Sophomore setter Erin Slinde assisted on 46 kills, as Alexa Hasting dished out five assists. Hasting also led the team with 22 digs, followed by Caffrey with 15. Of note, Gianna Gotterba returned to the court tonight after suffering a knee injury earlier this year.
West Virginia finished the match hitting .255 with 57 kills, seven blocks and 62 digs.
A .348 attacking percentage in the first frame helped the Jayhawks take the set, 28-26. WVU did not back down though, as the Mountaineers tied set one at 15-all with back-to-back kills from Swanegan and Caffrey, respectively. The set was tied once again at 20 apiece, but a kill from Levak put the Mountaineers ahead, 21-20. Kansas then collected three straight points to go up 23-21, forcing West Virginia into a timeout late in the frame. The Mountaineers came out strong from the stoppage, accumulating three of the next four points to tie the match at 24-all. Evans found the court to put the Mountaineers up 26-25, but back-to-back-to-back kills from Kansas ended the set in favor of the Jayhawks.
Kansas jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set two, using a trio of WVU attacking errors on a 4-0 scoring run. Following a WVU timeout, Levak put down a kill to bring the Mountaineers within three. West Virginia then scored three more in a row to tie the match at six apiece, but Kansas used a run of its own midway through the stanza to take an 11-8 lead. WVU bounced back, tying the match at 18-all following an attack error from KU. The squads then traded points before the Jayhawks tallied two straight to put them on top, 23-20, forcing the Mountaineers into a timeout. Kansas walked away from the break scoring two of the next four points to claim the set, 25-22.
WVU started the third set in a 6-3 hole, but quickly worked its way out using a service ace from Slinde and a kill from Evans to score three straight and tie the match at six apiece. Kansas hung around, but West Virginia continued to put in the work, using a pair of scoring runs midway through the set to take a 21-15 advantage. The Mountaineers finished off the set scoring four out of the last six points for the 25-17 victory to trail 2-1 in the match.
Attempting to carry the momentum into the fourth stanza, WVU tied the set at 4-4 on a kill from Katie DeMeo. Following a service error from West Virginia, Kansas rolled to three straight points for an 8-4 advantage. The Jayhawks then used another run midway through the fourth set to go up 15-7, but a kill from Swanegan stopped the Jayhawks' run once again. However, the Mountaineers never found the momentum to match the Jayhawks, as back-to-back kills put KU up by 10. Another kill put the Jayhawks at match point with a 24-15 lead and though Swanegan buried the ball to keep the match going, Kansas came through with its 56 kill of the evening for the 25-17 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
The Jayhawks finished the match hitting .273 with 56 kills and 60 digs. Kansas' Madison Rigdon had a team-high 17 kills for the Jayhawks, followed by Kelsie Payne with 12.
Looking ahead, West Virginia heads to Waco, Texas, for a 3 p.m. ET tilt with Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 7.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"I thought we did some nice things out there, but we weren't consistent enough," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "When you play a team like Kansas, you have to be consistent all the time. We talk to our team about being good all the time, and that's what we have to do. Every time we have a match or practice, it is a learning experience, and we need to learn from today."
Four Mountaineers landed in double digits, as sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Evans recorded a team-high 15 kills on the evening. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit a team best .310 with 14 kills. In addition, sophomore right side Natania Levak finished with 11 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey rounded out the team in double digits with 10.
Sophomore setter Erin Slinde assisted on 46 kills, as Alexa Hasting dished out five assists. Hasting also led the team with 22 digs, followed by Caffrey with 15. Of note, Gianna Gotterba returned to the court tonight after suffering a knee injury earlier this year.
West Virginia finished the match hitting .255 with 57 kills, seven blocks and 62 digs.
A .348 attacking percentage in the first frame helped the Jayhawks take the set, 28-26. WVU did not back down though, as the Mountaineers tied set one at 15-all with back-to-back kills from Swanegan and Caffrey, respectively. The set was tied once again at 20 apiece, but a kill from Levak put the Mountaineers ahead, 21-20. Kansas then collected three straight points to go up 23-21, forcing West Virginia into a timeout late in the frame. The Mountaineers came out strong from the stoppage, accumulating three of the next four points to tie the match at 24-all. Evans found the court to put the Mountaineers up 26-25, but back-to-back-to-back kills from Kansas ended the set in favor of the Jayhawks.
Kansas jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set two, using a trio of WVU attacking errors on a 4-0 scoring run. Following a WVU timeout, Levak put down a kill to bring the Mountaineers within three. West Virginia then scored three more in a row to tie the match at six apiece, but Kansas used a run of its own midway through the stanza to take an 11-8 lead. WVU bounced back, tying the match at 18-all following an attack error from KU. The squads then traded points before the Jayhawks tallied two straight to put them on top, 23-20, forcing the Mountaineers into a timeout. Kansas walked away from the break scoring two of the next four points to claim the set, 25-22.
WVU started the third set in a 6-3 hole, but quickly worked its way out using a service ace from Slinde and a kill from Evans to score three straight and tie the match at six apiece. Kansas hung around, but West Virginia continued to put in the work, using a pair of scoring runs midway through the set to take a 21-15 advantage. The Mountaineers finished off the set scoring four out of the last six points for the 25-17 victory to trail 2-1 in the match.
Attempting to carry the momentum into the fourth stanza, WVU tied the set at 4-4 on a kill from Katie DeMeo. Following a service error from West Virginia, Kansas rolled to three straight points for an 8-4 advantage. The Jayhawks then used another run midway through the fourth set to go up 15-7, but a kill from Swanegan stopped the Jayhawks' run once again. However, the Mountaineers never found the momentum to match the Jayhawks, as back-to-back kills put KU up by 10. Another kill put the Jayhawks at match point with a 24-15 lead and though Swanegan buried the ball to keep the match going, Kansas came through with its 56 kill of the evening for the 25-17 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
The Jayhawks finished the match hitting .273 with 56 kills and 60 digs. Kansas' Madison Rigdon had a team-high 17 kills for the Jayhawks, followed by Kelsie Payne with 12.
Looking ahead, West Virginia heads to Waco, Texas, for a 3 p.m. ET tilt with Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 7.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
KU
WVU
Kills
56
57
Errors
17
20
Attempts
143
145
Hitting %
.273
.255
Points
63.0
68.0
Assists
51
54
Aces
3
4
Blocks
4.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
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