WVU Downs Texas Tech in Five

Saturday, November 11

Morgantown, W.Va.

1:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

16-11,4-9

Texas Tech

14-12, 3-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Texas Tech	25	25	21	17	11	2
West Virginia	18	23	25	25	15	3

Photo by: Brian Persinger

November 11, 2017 05:17 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stat Sunahara PostGame

By: Amy Salvatore

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Trailing two sets to none, the West Virginia University volleyball team won three straight to claim a thrilling 3-2 win over Big 12 foe Texas Tech inside the WVU Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineers (16-11, 4-9) rallied to earn the win in set scores of 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17 and 15-11.

"They dug deep," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "After the second set, I was like 'oh man.' We were up two points, 23-21, and then we lost that lead. They were resilient. They came back, and they didn't let anything bother them. I thought they played well down the stretch."

Behind 25 kills from sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey, the Mountaineers hit .231 with 58 kills on 147 total swings. Caffrey tied her season high in kills, hitting a team-best .500 in the squad's five-set win over the Red Raiders (14-12, 3-10). Senior outside hitter Morgan Montgomery also tied her season high with 11 kills on the day, hitting .417. Rounding out the Mountaineers in double digits was sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Evans with 10.

Senior setter Emma Anderson had 42 of the squad's 56 assists, with sophomore setter Erin Slinde adding 10. Senior libero Gianna Gotterba led the floor defensively with 18 digs, while Caffrey chipped in with nine. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan had 10 total blocks, as the Mountaineers posted 16.0 team blocks in the match. Caffrey had five, while freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch also notched five blocks to go along with six kills on the day.

Texas Tech's Emily Hill led the Red Raider offense with 17 kills on 46 attacks, as TTU finished the match hitting .112 with 58 total swings.

The Mountaineers couldn't find their offense in set one, falling to the Red Raiders, 25-18. With the set tied at 7-7, Texas Tech scored on back-to-back service aces to take a 9-7 lead and never looked back. TTU later scored four straight points for a 19-14 advantage. Sophomore right side hitter Natania Levak found the floor and halted the Red Raiders' scoring streak, but Texas Tech bounced back and scored back-to-back points for the 21-15 lead. West Virginia called a timeout, as the Mountaineers countered with back-to-back points out of the stoppage to cut their deficit to four, down 21-17. However, the Red Raiders went on to claim three of the next four points, as West Virginia dropped the set to fall into a 1-0 hole in the match.

Both squads exchanged points early on, with the Mountaineers putting together some momentum midway through set two. West Virginia used a pair of scoring runs for a 16-13 lead, but Texas Tech fought its way back into the set, tying the match at 19-all. West Virginia hung in there and capitalized on three Red Raider attacking errors for the 22-20 advantage. However, Texas Tech managed to string together three straight kills, bringing the Red Raiders to set point at 24-23. TTU then claimed the set on a Mountaineer attacking error, 25-23, for the 2-0 match lead.

The turning point for WVU came in the third set, as the Mountaineers hit .250 with 14 kills. A service error from Texas Tech started a 5-0 run that put West Virginia in front 16-11. Texas Tech fought back, though, using a pair of 3-0 scoring runs to cut its deficit to two, at 21-19. West Virginia called a timeout, as Caffrey put three through the pins to bring the Mountaineers to set point, 24-21, out of the stoppage. Montgomery then threw down a kill to win the set, 25-21.

Looking to carry the momentum into the fourth set, Caffrey recorded an attacking percentage of .800 to lead the Mountaineers and tie the match 2-2. West Virginia held the advantage for most of the set, as a pair of Caffrey kills and a TTU attacking error put the Mountaineers ahead, 20-14. Texas Tech came within five following a kill from Allison White, but the Mountaineers found the court once again, notching back-to-back kills to put them in front, 23-16. Evans put down a kill before the Mountaineers won the set on a Red Raider attacking error, 25-17, tying the match score at 2-2 to force a fifth set.

After trading points to a 9-9 tie, West Virginia took a 12-9 lead on a pair of TTU attacking errors and a Caffrey kill. Another Red Raider miscue put the Mountaineers at set point with a 14-10 lead. Caffrey then sent the ball over the net for her 25th kill of the day and a 15-11 victory in the set and a 3-2 comeback win the match.

Of note, the Mountaineers are now 3-2 in five-set matches this season.

"We were fortunate enough to win," Sunahara said. "Texas Tech played well. We have to learn from this. We have Baylor next Sunday, and then two more matches after that."

With the win against Texas Tech, the Mountaineers have won 16 matches in a season for the first time since a 16-14 season in 2014. With 16 wins this season, Sunahara has earned his highest win total as head coach of the Mountaineers.

Looking ahead, West Virginia will take a week off from competition before closing its 2017 home regular-season slate on Sunday, Nov. 19. The Mountaineers will take on the No. 19-ranked Lady Bears inside the WVU Coliseum at 1 p.m. ET. Sunday is Senior Day, and prior to first serve, the Mountaineers will honor their 2017 senior class: defensive specialists Gianna Gotterba and Taylor Cross, setter Emma Anderson, middle blocker Mia Swanegan and outside hitter Morgan Montgomery.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.