MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Playing for its first-ever National Invitational Volleyball Tournament (NIVC) Semifinals berth, the West Virginia University volleyball team hosts former Big East foe Syracuse in a NIVC Third Round matchup on Monday, Dec. 4, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET.
 
Tickets are available at a cost of $6 for general admission, $5 for students and $4 for youth and seniors. WVU students will be admitted free with a valid I.D. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $3 each. Tickets 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.
 
"I'm looking forward to the match," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "Syracuse has a great team and great players. Our players are looking forward to it, and we're excited to be in this position, making a postseason run."
 
The Mountaineers (20-12) advanced to the third round of the NIVC Tournament with a 3-0 win over Temple on Wednesday at the WVU Coliseum. WVU took the victory in set scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-12. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey and senior outside hitter Morgan Montgomery led WVU with 12 kills each, as Montgomery hit a team-high .370 in the match. The Mountaineers finished the night hitting .321 with 45 kills on 109 swings to go along with seven service aces and seven team blocks.
 
Syracuse (22-13) advanced to the third round of the NIVC Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Towson on Friday. The Orange swept the Tigers in set scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-23. In the win, Santita Ebangwese finished with a match-high 16 kills and six blocks. Amber Witherspoon totaled 11 kills with four blocks, while Anastassiya Gorelina added eight kills. The Orange finished the match hitting .272 with 46 kills on 113 attacks and 11 total team blocks.
 
Monday's winner will face the winner of the Georgia/Ole Miss contest in the NIVC Semifinals, which will take place between Dec. 5-9. The Championship match is slated for Dec. 12, hosted at one of the two remaining schools, with a live broadcast available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
 
The Mountaineers are seeking their first-ever appearance in the semifinals since the tournament began in 1989. Originally known as the Women's Invitational Volleyball Championship (WIVC), the NIVC Tournament returned from a 22-year hiatus this season. West Virginia's 1991 squad played in the round-robin WIVC Tournament, defeating Notre Dame and Drexel in the process.
 
West Virginia will square off against Syracuse for the 28th time on Monday. WVU holds a 15-12 record in the all-time series and is 6-5 vs. SU at home. The two squads last met on Oct. 29, 2011, as the Mountaineers swept the Orange, 3-0, in Morgantown.
 
West Virginia owns a 9-5 mark inside the WVU Coliseum this season and is 308-229 at home all-time.
 
WVU and SU's lone common opponent this season was Big 12 foe Kansas State. The Mountaineers posted a 2-0 mark against the Wildcats this season, sweeping K-State in the home-and-away series for the first time in program history. The Orange also knocked off the Wildcats on the road, 3-1, on Sept. 1.
 
Through 32 matches, Caffrey leads the Mountaineers in kills with 417, sophomore setter Erin Slinde leads in assists with 915, Hasting leads in digs with 313, and Swanegan leads the team in blocking at 140.0. Caffrey also leads the squad with 54 service aces on the year. As a team, West Virginia is hitting .227 and holding its opponents to a .191 clip, while out-blocking its opponents, 261.5-256.0.
 
Of note, the Mountaineers have won 20 matches in a season for the first time since a 20-13 campaign in 2013. West Virginia is just one victory shy of reaching 21 wins for the first time since 1991, a season in which the Mountaineers made the postseason for the first time in program history. With 20 wins this year, Sunahara has earned his highest win total as head coach of the Mountaineers.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.