Box Score WACO, Texas (Oct. 7, 2017) – Unable to generate a consistent offense, the West Virginia University volleyball fell to Baylor, 3-0, in Big 12 action at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday. The Mountaineers, who move to 12-6 overall and 1-4 in league play, dropped the match in set scores of 20-25, 18-25 and 12-5.
Natania Levak had a team-best six kills for WVU, while
Payton Caffrey had five.
Mia Swanegan and
Erin Slinde each had three, with Slinde hitting .333 in the process.
Katelyn Evans added a pair of kills as well.
Katie DeMeo led WVU's blocking effort with five. Levak had three, and Caffrey and Swanegan added two apiece.
Gianna Gotterba had 11 digs, followed by
Alexa Hasting's 10. Slinde had 10 assists, splitting time at setter with
Emma Anderson, who dished out seven assists.
WVU finished the match hitting -.011 with 21 kills and eight team blocks. Aniah Philo and Yossiana Pressley each had nine kills for Baylor, who hit .207 with 36 kills, nine blocks and nine aces.
Losing a three-point lead midway through the set, the Mountaineers couldn't find their offense and fell to the Bears, 25-20. After a 3-0 run put Baylor on top 9-6 in the set, WVU scored four straight to take an 11-10 lead on a kill from Levak. The Mountaineers added four more in a row, using an ace from Proctor and a setter dump by Slinde for a 15-12 advantage. However, Baylor countered with a seven-point run, taking a 19-17 lead. Slinde and Levak each found the court again, but West Virginia dropped the set to fall into a 1-0 hole in the match.
The struggles continued into the second set, as West Virginia dropped the frame 25-18 to Baylor. The Bears grabbed an early lead and never looked back. Slinde had a block and Evans added a kill, but Baylor capitalized on three straight WVU miscues on a 4-0 run for a 16-8 lead. The Mountaineers put together some momentum, scoring on a kill and a block from Swanegan. However, another four in a row from Baylor put the Bears up 22-13. DeMeo and Levak paired for a block, while Levak also added a kill to keep the Mountaineers alive, but the Bears came away with the set in the end for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Baylor again took an early lead in the third and powered to the 25-12 win. The Bears grabbed seven of eight to take an 11-6 lead on a service ace. They added three more to make it 14-7 before Swanegan and Caffrey pair for a block. Caffrey came through with a kill, and Levak and DeMeo put together a block, but the Mountaineers couldn't cut into the Bears' lead, which grew to 10 at 21-11. Baylor scored four of the last five points to win the set as WVU dropped the match, 3-0.
WVU returns to Morgantown to host Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 13, in a 6 p.m. tilt.
