Wednesday, October 24
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
10-12, 2-7
3
vs
1
Texas Tech
15-8, 4-5
1
2
3
4
F
Texas Tech
25
22
23
21
1
West Virginia
21
25
25
25
3
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Storms Back, Takes Down Texas Tech in Four
October 24, 2018 09:37 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A trio of Mountaineers notched double-digit kills on the evening, as the West Virginia University volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak to claim a 3-1 triumph over Big 12 foe Texas Tech, on Wednesday, inside the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers (10-12, 2-7) won it set scores of 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 and 25-21 over the Red Raiders (15-8, 4-5).
"We're learning our team, and every night is different," fourth-year coach Reed Sunarhara said. "We let them back in the game, but it didn't faze us. I was happy with that. It was nice to see that we can pull something off. I was proud of our team tonight. I thought they played well enough to win, and we have to build on this moving forward."
Four Mountaineers finished the night hitting .200 or better, with the team hitting .184 on the evening. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans paved the way for WVU with 16 kills, followed by junior right side hitter Natania Levak with 14 for a .394 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo also hit .348 in the match, racking up 12 kills.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas assisted on 46 kills, three shy of a career high, while sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a team-high 18 digs in the match. DeMeo also recorded four total blocks for the Mountaineers, while freshman outside hitter Macy McElhaney, Zerwas and Evans posted three total blocks apiece.
As a team, West Virginia had 55 kills and just 26 errors on 158 total swings, with 11 team blocks.
Texas Tech jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set before West Virginia collected three straight points to come within three. Evans added a pair of kills midway through the frame, cutting the Mountaineers deficit to four at 13-9. WVU continued to chip away at TTU's lead down the stretch, as a kill from Levak brought the Mountaineers within three at 22-19. However, a WVU attacking error helped TTU reach set point at 24-19. West Virginia extended the set, though, using a kill from freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan and a Mountaineer block to stay within three points. Texas Tech eventually put down a kill, as West Virginia dropped the set, 25-21, to fall into a 1-0 hole in the match.
The second set started similar to the first, as Texas Tech racked up six straight points for the 6-0 advantage. A kill from freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux put the Mountaineers on the board, but another 5-0 scoring streak from the Red Raiders increased TTU's lead to eight at 14-6. West Virginia did not back down, though, using a 3-0 scoring run of its own to come within four at 16-12. Texas Tech took a timeout, but West Virginia continued to roll, using back-to-back kills to tie the set at 21 points apiece. The Red Raiders put down a kill to regain the lead, but WVU capitalized on a TTU service error to tie the set and never looked back. Evans found the floor, as Lux served up an ace to reach set point at 24-22. Evans then threw down another kill to finish out the frame, as the Mountaineers evened the match score at one set apiece.
After playing to 15 ties throughout the course of the set, West Virginia scored five of the last seven points for a 25-23 win in the third stanza. With the match tied at 20-all, TTU's Emily Hill recorded a kill to give the Red Raiders a 21-20 edge late in the frame. West Virginia then used a pair of Texas Tech miscues to its advantage, as well as kills from Levak and DeMeo, reaching set point at 24-21. TTU put down a kill to extend the set, though, setting up a Red Raider service ace to cut their deficit to one. However, a TTU service error allowed the Mountaineers to take the 25-23 third-set victory and 2-1 match lead over the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech stormed back in the fourth, racking up four points in a row to tie the set at 19-all. A kill from Evans pushed WVU in front, as Levak sneaked one through the pins to put the Mountaineers up for good at 22-20. TTU notched an attacking error, as the Red Raiders used a timeout, down 23-20 late in the set. Texas Tech then put down a kill out of the stoppage, but back-to-back errors on the Red Raiders handed the 25-21 win to the Mountaineers, who claimed the match, 3-1.
Of note, the Mountaineers are two wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 698-735 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will close out the month of October at home with a Big 12 match against Kansas on Wednesday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum. Fans can don their Halloween costume for free admission. Attendees also are invited to enter a costume contest.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"We're learning our team, and every night is different," fourth-year coach Reed Sunarhara said. "We let them back in the game, but it didn't faze us. I was happy with that. It was nice to see that we can pull something off. I was proud of our team tonight. I thought they played well enough to win, and we have to build on this moving forward."
Four Mountaineers finished the night hitting .200 or better, with the team hitting .184 on the evening. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans paved the way for WVU with 16 kills, followed by junior right side hitter Natania Levak with 14 for a .394 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo also hit .348 in the match, racking up 12 kills.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas assisted on 46 kills, three shy of a career high, while sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a team-high 18 digs in the match. DeMeo also recorded four total blocks for the Mountaineers, while freshman outside hitter Macy McElhaney, Zerwas and Evans posted three total blocks apiece.
As a team, West Virginia had 55 kills and just 26 errors on 158 total swings, with 11 team blocks.
Texas Tech jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set before West Virginia collected three straight points to come within three. Evans added a pair of kills midway through the frame, cutting the Mountaineers deficit to four at 13-9. WVU continued to chip away at TTU's lead down the stretch, as a kill from Levak brought the Mountaineers within three at 22-19. However, a WVU attacking error helped TTU reach set point at 24-19. West Virginia extended the set, though, using a kill from freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan and a Mountaineer block to stay within three points. Texas Tech eventually put down a kill, as West Virginia dropped the set, 25-21, to fall into a 1-0 hole in the match.
The second set started similar to the first, as Texas Tech racked up six straight points for the 6-0 advantage. A kill from freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux put the Mountaineers on the board, but another 5-0 scoring streak from the Red Raiders increased TTU's lead to eight at 14-6. West Virginia did not back down, though, using a 3-0 scoring run of its own to come within four at 16-12. Texas Tech took a timeout, but West Virginia continued to roll, using back-to-back kills to tie the set at 21 points apiece. The Red Raiders put down a kill to regain the lead, but WVU capitalized on a TTU service error to tie the set and never looked back. Evans found the floor, as Lux served up an ace to reach set point at 24-22. Evans then threw down another kill to finish out the frame, as the Mountaineers evened the match score at one set apiece.
After playing to 15 ties throughout the course of the set, West Virginia scored five of the last seven points for a 25-23 win in the third stanza. With the match tied at 20-all, TTU's Emily Hill recorded a kill to give the Red Raiders a 21-20 edge late in the frame. West Virginia then used a pair of Texas Tech miscues to its advantage, as well as kills from Levak and DeMeo, reaching set point at 24-21. TTU put down a kill to extend the set, though, setting up a Red Raider service ace to cut their deficit to one. However, a TTU service error allowed the Mountaineers to take the 25-23 third-set victory and 2-1 match lead over the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech stormed back in the fourth, racking up four points in a row to tie the set at 19-all. A kill from Evans pushed WVU in front, as Levak sneaked one through the pins to put the Mountaineers up for good at 22-20. TTU notched an attacking error, as the Red Raiders used a timeout, down 23-20 late in the set. Texas Tech then put down a kill out of the stoppage, but back-to-back errors on the Red Raiders handed the 25-21 win to the Mountaineers, who claimed the match, 3-1.
Of note, the Mountaineers are two wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 698-735 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will close out the month of October at home with a Big 12 match against Kansas on Wednesday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum. Fans can don their Halloween costume for free admission. Attendees also are invited to enter a costume contest.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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Team Stats
TTU
WVU
Kills
50
55
Errors
21
26
Attempts
152
158
Hitting %
.191
.184
Points
62.0
71.0
Assists
48
51
Aces
3
5
Blocks
9.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
4
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
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