
Photo by: Steven Prunty
Mountaineers Top Roadrunners
September 02, 2017 08:20 PM | Volleyball
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The West Virginia University volleyball made it two in a row on Saturday, posting a 3-1 win over the Universiy of Texas – San Antonio just hours after downing Tennessee on Saturday evening at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Mountaineers (4-2, 0-0) topped the Roadrunners (0-5, 0-0 C-USA) in set scores of 25-19, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-20 to finish 2-1 at the Diet Coke Classic.
Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey recorded her second straight double-double with a team-high 21 kills and 12 digs. Fellow sophomore hitter Katelyn Evans hit .375 with 18 kills, adding a pair of blocks. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit .500 with 11 kills and led the blocking effort with four blocks and sophomore right side Natania Levak added six kills.
Sophomore setter Erin Slinde, freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch and Senior outside hitter Morgan Montgomery each finished with three kills as West Virginia hit a season-best .316.
Lynch added a trio of blocks, while Caffrey and Slinde chipped in a pair each. Slinde finished the night with a season-high 52 assists, while freshman libero Alexa Hasting added six assists and a team-high 18 digs. Caffrey and Slinde each notched a pair of service aces as well.
Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor had nine digs, while Slinde added six. West Virginia finished the night with 65 kills and seven blocks.
Marijeta Runjic led UTSA with 20 kills as the Roadrunners hit .266 with 47 kills and seven blocks.
"UTSA is a good team, so it was nice to get the win," coach Reed Sunahara said. "We got a little sloppy in the second set, but we were able to rebound and do some nice things. I like the momentum we have going forward."
Caffrey and Swanegan paired for eight kills as the Mountaineers hit .265 in their first set win over UTSA. West Virginia used kills from Caffrey and Evans in taking six of the first seven points for a 6-1 advantage. The teams traded points from there, with the Mountaineers using a late 4-0 run to bring up set point at 24-18 on a block from Lynch and Levak. Evans put the set away soon after, striking for the 25-19 win.
The Roadrunners battled back in the second set, claiming the frame to tie the match 1-1. With West Virginia hitting .189 in the set, the two battled to five ties and three lead changes. A service error on the Mountaineers put the score at 8-8 as UTSA went on to tally six of the next seven points for a 14-9 advantage. Slinde added a pair of late kills, but the Mountaineers couldn't come from behind and dropped the set, 25-19.
After some early struggles in the third set, WVU went on to hit .407 in taking a 2-1 lead in the match behind five kills from Caffrey. The Mountaineers and the Roadrunners traded points to 14 total ties, as the lead changed hands on six occasions. UTSA used an ace to provide separation at 9-6 after several early ties. The momentum went back and forth again, with a Roadrunner kill knotting the score at 20-20. Back-to-back Caffrey kills helped WVU roll out five straight for the 25-20 triumph.
The Mountaineers hit a blazing .407 behind 10 kills from Caffrey and Evans in the fourth set. Though UTSA was able to take a slim 9-6 lead on a service ace, Montgomery subbed in and stopped the run with a kill. Swanegan and Slinde paired for a block, and Caffrey found the court to even the score at 14-14. The teams played a tight game before a Swanegan kill started a 5-0 run that withstood a UTSA timeout. Consecutive Caffrey kills once again put things away for the Mountaineers, who took a 25-20 win for the 3-1 victory.
West Virginia travels to Dayton, Ohio, to play in the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Wright State next weekend. The Mountaineers will open the tournament on Friday with an 11 a.m. match against Tennessee Tech.
Sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey recorded her second straight double-double with a team-high 21 kills and 12 digs. Fellow sophomore hitter Katelyn Evans hit .375 with 18 kills, adding a pair of blocks. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan hit .500 with 11 kills and led the blocking effort with four blocks and sophomore right side Natania Levak added six kills.
Sophomore setter Erin Slinde, freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch and Senior outside hitter Morgan Montgomery each finished with three kills as West Virginia hit a season-best .316.
Lynch added a trio of blocks, while Caffrey and Slinde chipped in a pair each. Slinde finished the night with a season-high 52 assists, while freshman libero Alexa Hasting added six assists and a team-high 18 digs. Caffrey and Slinde each notched a pair of service aces as well.
Freshman defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor had nine digs, while Slinde added six. West Virginia finished the night with 65 kills and seven blocks.
Marijeta Runjic led UTSA with 20 kills as the Roadrunners hit .266 with 47 kills and seven blocks.
"UTSA is a good team, so it was nice to get the win," coach Reed Sunahara said. "We got a little sloppy in the second set, but we were able to rebound and do some nice things. I like the momentum we have going forward."
Caffrey and Swanegan paired for eight kills as the Mountaineers hit .265 in their first set win over UTSA. West Virginia used kills from Caffrey and Evans in taking six of the first seven points for a 6-1 advantage. The teams traded points from there, with the Mountaineers using a late 4-0 run to bring up set point at 24-18 on a block from Lynch and Levak. Evans put the set away soon after, striking for the 25-19 win.
The Roadrunners battled back in the second set, claiming the frame to tie the match 1-1. With West Virginia hitting .189 in the set, the two battled to five ties and three lead changes. A service error on the Mountaineers put the score at 8-8 as UTSA went on to tally six of the next seven points for a 14-9 advantage. Slinde added a pair of late kills, but the Mountaineers couldn't come from behind and dropped the set, 25-19.
After some early struggles in the third set, WVU went on to hit .407 in taking a 2-1 lead in the match behind five kills from Caffrey. The Mountaineers and the Roadrunners traded points to 14 total ties, as the lead changed hands on six occasions. UTSA used an ace to provide separation at 9-6 after several early ties. The momentum went back and forth again, with a Roadrunner kill knotting the score at 20-20. Back-to-back Caffrey kills helped WVU roll out five straight for the 25-20 triumph.
The Mountaineers hit a blazing .407 behind 10 kills from Caffrey and Evans in the fourth set. Though UTSA was able to take a slim 9-6 lead on a service ace, Montgomery subbed in and stopped the run with a kill. Swanegan and Slinde paired for a block, and Caffrey found the court to even the score at 14-14. The teams played a tight game before a Swanegan kill started a 5-0 run that withstood a UTSA timeout. Consecutive Caffrey kills once again put things away for the Mountaineers, who took a 25-20 win for the 3-1 victory.
West Virginia travels to Dayton, Ohio, to play in the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Wright State next weekend. The Mountaineers will open the tournament on Friday with an 11 a.m. match against Tennessee Tech.
Team Stats
UTSA
WVU
Kills
47
65
Errors
14
22
Attempts
124
136
Hitting %
.266
.316
Points
57.0
77.0
Assists
46
62
Aces
3
5
Blocks
7.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
VB: BYU Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 04
2025 Volleyball Coal Rush Uniform Reveal
Thursday, October 02
Jen Greeny | Sept. 23 | ESPN+ Halftime Interview
Tuesday, September 30
VB: Dolphin Volleyball Classic Cinematic Recap
Sunday, September 21























