WVU Welcomes No. 6 Texas to the Coliseum

Saturday, September 23

Morgantown, W.Va.

1:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

Texas

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Photo by: Steven Prunty

September 22, 2017 04:48 PM | Volleyball

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By: Ashley Bailey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Riding a 10-match win streak, the West Virginia University volleyball team welcomes No. 6 Texas to the WVU Coliseum for another Big 12 Conference showdown on Saturday, Sept. 23, with first serve set for 1 p.m.

The first 175 fans through the gate will receive a free t-shirt. In addition, the team will host a free autograph session to all fans once the match is concluded. 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.

"Texas is always a strong team," coach Reed Sunahara said. "There's a reason why they're always one of the best in the nation. I think we have some good momentum going into the match, but we need to take it one set at a time. We played teams like Penn State and Minnesota to prepare us for the Big 12 schedule, and this is a situation where that experience is going to help."

West Virginia (12-2, 1-0) is coming off its first Big 12 victory of the season, downing TCU, 3-1, at home in its conference opener. The Mountaineers have now won 10 straight matches, tying the team's longest win streak since 2014. Of note, the team's 10-match win streak started on Sept. 2 with a sweep of Tennessee at the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis.

Sophomore right side Natania Levak led the way against. TCU, hitting .406 with 17 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Payton Caffrey notched her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs. Senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan also finished in double figures with 10 kills, hitting a team-best .600 in the process, while sophomore hitter Katelyn Evans added seven.

Texas (8-2) marks WVU's third top-10 opponent of the season, as the team's two losses come from then-No. 2 Minnesota earlier this month and No. 2 Penn State back in August. The Longhorns currently own a 10-0 all-time series advantage since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012. However, the Mountaineers took then-No. 2 Texas to five sets back in 2014, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Longhorns inside the WVU Coliseum.

Through 14 matches, Caffrey leads the Mountaineers in kills with 149, sophomore Erin Slinde leads in assists with 494, freshman Alexa Hasting leads in digs with 165, and Swanegan leads in blocking at 59.0. As a team, West Virginia is hitting .257 and holding its opponents to a .142 clip, while out blocking its opponents, 117.5-85.5.

Please note that several changes to parking and traffic patterns were announced earlier this week in preparation for the Morgantown Marathon. Races will start adjacent to the Gold Gate and finish near the Blue Gate between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Fans attending the match will enter the parking lot via the band parking lot entrance on Monongahela Blvd. Entry from Patteson Drive or the Evansdale Drive/Arboretum entrance is prohibited during the event.

Parking will be available in the band lot, located beside the track and in front of the WVU Wrestling Pavilion or WVU Natatorium. The remaining upper lots will be closed to the general public. Fans will enter the Coliseum via the Gold Gate is normal.

Looking ahead, the team will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for its first Big 12 road match of the season, as WVU faces Texas Tech on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. ET.