Mountaineers Head to Diet Coke Classic

Friday, September 1

Minneapolis, Minn.

8:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

Minnesota

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

August 31, 2017 03:12 PM | Volleyball

Live Stats BTN Plus Match Notes

By: Ashley Bailey

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The West Virginia University volleyball team embarks on its first road trip of the season this weekend when the Mountaineers head to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a trio of matches at the Diet Coke Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota on Friday and Saturday.

WVU will take on the No. 2 Golden Gophers at Friday at 8 p.m. ET to start the tournament. Play continues on Saturday against Tennessee at noon ET before concluding with a 4:30 p.m. ET match against UTSA. All matches will be played at Maturi Pavilion and will be streamed live for a fee on BTN Plus.

"I think this is going to be an exciting challenge for our team," coach Reed Sunahara said. "Playing competitive, ranked teams will help prepare us for the Big 12 schedule that lies ahead. This weekend is a great opportunity to get better."

Sophomore setter Erin Slinde will get the opportunity to play in front of friends and family in Minneapolis this weekend. Slinde hails from nearby Rosemount, Minnesota, and was an all-state and all-conference honoree at Rosemount High. She played club volleyball for Northern Lights.

WVU's tilt with No. 2 Minnesota (2-0) marks the team's second straight week playing a ranked Big Ten. It also marks just the second meeting between the two all-time and is the program's 22nd all-time meeting with a Big Ten. WVU and Minnesota last met in September of 1983, when the Golden Gophers took a 3-0 win in Morgantown.

Saturday is the first-ever meeting between the Mountaineers and the Volunteers (3-0). WVU has a limited history with the SEC, playing 11 matches against eight opponents from 1998-2012.

The Mountaineers have one previous contest against UTSA (0-2), as the Roadrunners claimed a home win in September of 2011.

West Virginia went 2-1 at last weekend's WVU Invitational. The Mountaineers opened the season with a 3-1 win over Delaware on Friday, before recording a 3-0 sweep of UT-Martin on Saturday afternoon. They dropped a 3-0 contest to No. 6 Penn State later that evening. More than 1,330 fans came out to the evening contest.

Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey and freshman defensive specialist/libero Alexa Hasting earned WVU Invitational All-Tournament Team honors. Caffrey led the Mountaineers with 3.10 kills per set and seven aces, making the team for the second consecutive season. Hasting, who played defensive specialist against Delaware before taking over at libero for the rest of the tournament, averaged 1.80 digs per set for a total of 18 in the tournament.

Six newcomers, including five freshmen, made it into the rotation at the WVU Invitational. Katie DeMeo started all three matches at middle blocker and finished second on the team with 0.75 blocks per set. Hasting took over at libero, while fellow defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor got a start and totaled 1.40 digs per set with 14 aces. Ava Richards had five digs and a pair of aces, and middle blocker Briana Lynch also saw the court. Senior transfer Emma Anderson saw action at setter and tallied 14 assists.