WVU Downs Delaware to Open Season

Friday, August 25

Morgantown, W.Va.

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

1-0

Delaware

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
DELAWARE	25	13	20	17	1
West Virginia	18	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Steven Prunty

August 25, 2017 09:46 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Season Stats Photo Gallery

By: Ashley Bailey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After dropping the first set of the year, the West Virginia University volleyball team won three straight to claim a 3-1 win over Delaware in set scores of 18-25, 25-13, 25-20 and 25-17 to open the season on Friday evening at the WVU Coliseum.

The match was the second of the WVU Invitational. WVU (1-0) will play UT-Martin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping things up with No. 6 Penn State at 7 p.m.

Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan led the way, hitting .545 with 14 kills and a trio of blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey had 12 kills and a team-high six service aces, along with five total blocks. Freshman middle blocker Katie DeMeo hit .333 with six kills and four blocks in her career debut, while sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Evans had five kills and sophomore right side Natania Levak added four.

Sophomore setter Erin Slinde had 36 assists and five digs as senior libero Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 16 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor had eight digs in her first match in a Mountaineer uniform, adding a pair of aces as well.

West Virginia hit .206 as a team with eight team blocks, 42 assists and 10 aces.

Maria Bellinger led the Blue Hens with 14 kills, while Kori Rasmussen had 11 digs. UD hit .136 with 10 team blocks and six aces.

The Mountaineers couldn't get out of an early hole and dropped the first set, 25-18. A four-point run put Delaware on top, 6-2, on a WVU ball handling error early in the set. Back-to-back aces put the Blue Hens in front, 9-4, before a pair of UD errors and a Caffrey kill brought the Mountaineers within five, trailing 15-10. However, Delaware scored three straight for a 20-13 lead before adding three more in a row to cap the set.

WVU rebounded nicely in the second set, claiming a 25-13 win after hitting .269 behind four kills from Swanegan. Consecutive aces by Caffrey made it a 3-1 WVU lead early in the set. The Mountaineers added three in a row, using a block from Caffrey and Swanegan to stay on top, 9-4. Back-to-back kills from Evans made it 20-11, forcing UD into a timeout. A pair of late Blue Hen errors helped the Mountaineers claim the set and tie the match 1-1

After a close battle, West Virginia hit .321 and ran away with the third set late in the frame for a 25-20 win. The Mountaineers and the Blue Hens traded points at the start before WVU scored five of six points for a 14-10 lead, forcing UD into its first timeout. Delaware came back to even the score at 15-15 before a kill from Evans stopped the run and gave WVU the 16-15 advantage. The two played to 17-17 tie before kills from Caffrey and DeMeo led the Mountaineers on a 4-0 run for a 21-17 lead. The Blue Hens attempted to rally, but Caffrey threw down a kill and an ace for the win as WVU claimed a 2-1 lead in the match.

The two teams kept it close again in the fourth set before the Mountaineers used a 4-0 run midway through to gain the advantage. Swanegan hit .333 with a trio of kills to lead the way as WVU went up 16-9 on a service ace by DeMeo. DeMeo later teamed with Caffrey for a block, putting the Mountaineers on top, 22-14. Senior setter Emma Anderson recorded a late kill before Caffrey served an ace on match-point to win the set, 25-17, and take the match at 3-1.