Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
A Look Back at the 2017 Season
February 14, 2018 12:14 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – How does a team move past a record-setting year?
If you are the West Virginia University volleyball team, you return to the court and continue to get one percent better.
"The future is bright," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "We have to keep doing what we are supposed to do. The coaching staff needs to keep doing what they are supposed to do. We have to keep recruiting. That is the name of the game. We have to train our kids hard, so that we can continue to get one percent better every day."
West Virginia put together a solid list of "firsts" this season, including upsetting No. 14 Kansas in its regular-season finale for its first-ever win over a top-25 team. Additionally, the Mountaineers collected 21 wins for the first time since 1991 and advanced to the postseason for the second time in program history.
"I thought we made some good strides," Sunahara added. "We got a lot better from the year before. We added some pieces to the puzzle. Overall, I was happy with the results. We can always get better, but for the most part, we made some good strides and had a pretty good season."
The Mountaineers first official spring practice takes place on Monday, Feb. 26, and before the program turns the page and continues its preparation for the 2018 season, let's look back at one of the most memorable years in program history.
Historic Season Ends in NIVC Semifinals
The Mountaineers (21-13, 6-10) saw their historic 2017 season end in the second-to-last match of the postseason, as the team dropped a three-set match to Ole Miss in an National Invitational Volleyball Championship Semifinal matchup at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center, in Oxford, Mississippi, on Dec. 9.
WVU's run to the semifinals was unforgettable, as the team earned three straight sweeps in front of its home crowd at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers finished the year with 21 wins for the first time since a 26-11 campaign in 1991, the only time before 2017 that the Mountaineers made the postseason. With 21 wins, Sunahara has earned his highest win total as head coach of the Mountaineers.
"It was a learning experience for sure, because we haven't been in it since 1991," Sunahara said. "For us, it was a good situation. We got to play more and practice more as a team, and we needed that. We needed to gain that experience, so that in years to come, we can make the NCAA Tournament and understand what goes into it."
WVU Makes History in the Big 12
The Mountaineers closed their 2017 regular season with a pair of Big 12 road wins, most notably upsetting No. 14 Kansas at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, in Lawrence, Kansas, on Nov. 25. West Virginia claimed the five-set match in set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22 and 15-12 to capture its first-ever win over a top-25 opponent.
Down 9-8 in the fifth set, West Virginia took a timeout to regroup. The Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run out of the stoppage to take an 11-9 lead over the Jayhawks. Kansas continued to put up a fight though, capitalizing on a Mountaineer attacking error to tie the set at 12-all. However, three straight kills from the Mountaineers gave WVU the 15-12 fifth-set win and the 3-2 victory in the contest.
WVU hit .240 with 62 kills and 7.5 team blocks in the victory. Of note, the Mountaineers finished their 2017 regular season winning three of their last four matches in Big 12 play.
"It's tough to win on the road, so beating Kansas State and Kansas in the same week was a big accomplishment for us," Sunahara noted. "It just shows you that on any given night, you can beat any team. That's why we train hard. We try to get one percent better every day. All these things put together can result in something good for us."
Challenging Slate
Each volleyball program in the Big 12 Conference continues to progress year after year, ultimately leaving the Mountaineers with one of the nation's hardest schedules. The 2017 season was no different, as West Virginia played six teams ranked inside the AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Mountaineers faced nationally-ranked Texas, Kansas and Iowa State twice in league play in addition to nonconference matches against No. 6 Penn State and No. 2 Minnesota. Big 12 foe Baylor eventually entered the national rankings toward the end of the year, with eight of the Mountaineers' 13 losses coming against the country's top-25 teams.
Win Streak Ends at 10
With a win against rival TCU on Sept. 20, WVU tied the team's longest win streak since 2014, notching 10 consecutive victories in the span of 18 days. A 3-0 sweep of Tennessee at the Diet Coke Classic (Sept. 1-2) in Minneapolis got things started for the Mountaineers. West Virginia then went 4-0 at the Holiday Inn Invitational (Sept. 8-9) at Wright State and 3-0 at the Black Knights Invite (Sept. 15-16), hosted by Army, in West Point, New York. However, the streak was eventually snapped on Sept. 23 following the TCU win, as the team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to then-No. 6 Texas inside the WVU Coliseum.
WVU Claims the Golden Ball
The Mountaineers swept in-state foe Marshall on Sept. 12 to bring the Golden Ball Trophy back to Morgantown for the second time in two years. It marked WVU's first sweep of the Thundering Herd since 2010, as the Mountaineers claimed their last win in five sets in 2015. It also was West Virginia's first win in Huntington since 2000.
Not Up in Here!
West Virginia finished the 2017 season with 274.5 blocks, including 40 solo, to average 2.20 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the conference behind Baylor (2.22), Iowa State (3.00) and Texas (3.12).
Senior Mia Swanegan, a three-year starter at middle blocker, led the Mountaineers defensively, finishing third in league action with 1.23 blocks per set. The All-Big 12 Second Team honoree posted a team-high 150 blocks on the year, including 16 solo blocks. Sophomore Natania Levak ranked second on the team with 75 blocks.
All About That Ace
WVU also led the Big 12 in service aces throughout the course of the 2017 season, averaging 1.30 aces per set. The Mountaineers notched 163 service aces on the year, while holding their opponents to 134. Individually, sophomore Erin Slinde finished eighth in the conference with 0.22 aces per set. She recorded a total of 23 aces in 103 sets played.
Senior Tribute
The Mountaineers honored their five seniors (defensive specialists Gianna Gotterba and Taylor Cross, outside hitter Morgan Montgomery, senior setter Emma Anderson and Swanegan) in their home finale against Baylor on Nov. 18. All five seniors added a piece to the puzzle, finishing their Mountaineer careers with nothing but memories.
A four-year player and two-time team captain for the Mountaineers, Gotterba appeared in 105 matches and 383 career sets. A three-year starter at libero, she finished her career ranked fourth all-time with 1,362 career digs. She also is tied for fourth all-time with 3.56 digs per set.
Montgomery, who also was a four-year player for the Mountaineers, played in 97 matches and 292 career sets. She also was named a 2017 team captain alongside Gotterba. Montgomery notched a total of 719 kills throughout her career at WVU, averaging a .158 efficiency.
Following her freshman campaign at TCU, Swanegan appeared in 92 matches and 330 career sets for the Mountaineers. A three-year starter at middle blocker, she finished her career ranked fifth all-time with 1.12 blocks per set. She also ranks fifth all-time with 334 career block assists.
Cross transferred to West Virginia in the summer of 2015 after spending one season with New Mexico. She has played in 61 matches and 171 career sets for the Mountaineers, averaging 1.50 digs per set.
Anderson also came to Morgantown in 2017 after spending three seasons at South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference. She played in 25 matches and 53 career sets for the Mountaineers, averaging 7.43 assists per set.
"First of all, Gianna and Morgan stayed when I arrived in 2015," Sunahara said. "That was huge. Those two brought the experience and leadership that we needed. That was tremendous. My hats off to them. I can't thank them enough for staying. Then with Mia, Taylor and Emma coming, that was huge. Emma was here for a year, but Mia and Taylor were here for three years. I thought the five of them had a major impact on turning this program around to respectability. They helped us grow and build a foundation.
"Their work ethic is second-to-none. Their mindset was good as well. I would like to think that our younger players learned from them. They brought good energy. Hopefully, they will leave a legacy here, and we can build of that."
2017 Mountaineer Accolades
Taylor Cross
If you are the West Virginia University volleyball team, you return to the court and continue to get one percent better.
"The future is bright," said third-year coach Reed Sunahara. "We have to keep doing what we are supposed to do. The coaching staff needs to keep doing what they are supposed to do. We have to keep recruiting. That is the name of the game. We have to train our kids hard, so that we can continue to get one percent better every day."
West Virginia put together a solid list of "firsts" this season, including upsetting No. 14 Kansas in its regular-season finale for its first-ever win over a top-25 team. Additionally, the Mountaineers collected 21 wins for the first time since 1991 and advanced to the postseason for the second time in program history.
"I thought we made some good strides," Sunahara added. "We got a lot better from the year before. We added some pieces to the puzzle. Overall, I was happy with the results. We can always get better, but for the most part, we made some good strides and had a pretty good season."
The Mountaineers first official spring practice takes place on Monday, Feb. 26, and before the program turns the page and continues its preparation for the 2018 season, let's look back at one of the most memorable years in program history.
Historic Season Ends in NIVC Semifinals
The Mountaineers (21-13, 6-10) saw their historic 2017 season end in the second-to-last match of the postseason, as the team dropped a three-set match to Ole Miss in an National Invitational Volleyball Championship Semifinal matchup at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center, in Oxford, Mississippi, on Dec. 9.
WVU's run to the semifinals was unforgettable, as the team earned three straight sweeps in front of its home crowd at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers finished the year with 21 wins for the first time since a 26-11 campaign in 1991, the only time before 2017 that the Mountaineers made the postseason. With 21 wins, Sunahara has earned his highest win total as head coach of the Mountaineers.
"It was a learning experience for sure, because we haven't been in it since 1991," Sunahara said. "For us, it was a good situation. We got to play more and practice more as a team, and we needed that. We needed to gain that experience, so that in years to come, we can make the NCAA Tournament and understand what goes into it."
WVU Makes History in the Big 12
The Mountaineers closed their 2017 regular season with a pair of Big 12 road wins, most notably upsetting No. 14 Kansas at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, in Lawrence, Kansas, on Nov. 25. West Virginia claimed the five-set match in set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22 and 15-12 to capture its first-ever win over a top-25 opponent.
Down 9-8 in the fifth set, West Virginia took a timeout to regroup. The Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run out of the stoppage to take an 11-9 lead over the Jayhawks. Kansas continued to put up a fight though, capitalizing on a Mountaineer attacking error to tie the set at 12-all. However, three straight kills from the Mountaineers gave WVU the 15-12 fifth-set win and the 3-2 victory in the contest.
WVU hit .240 with 62 kills and 7.5 team blocks in the victory. Of note, the Mountaineers finished their 2017 regular season winning three of their last four matches in Big 12 play.
"It's tough to win on the road, so beating Kansas State and Kansas in the same week was a big accomplishment for us," Sunahara noted. "It just shows you that on any given night, you can beat any team. That's why we train hard. We try to get one percent better every day. All these things put together can result in something good for us."
Challenging Slate
Each volleyball program in the Big 12 Conference continues to progress year after year, ultimately leaving the Mountaineers with one of the nation's hardest schedules. The 2017 season was no different, as West Virginia played six teams ranked inside the AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Mountaineers faced nationally-ranked Texas, Kansas and Iowa State twice in league play in addition to nonconference matches against No. 6 Penn State and No. 2 Minnesota. Big 12 foe Baylor eventually entered the national rankings toward the end of the year, with eight of the Mountaineers' 13 losses coming against the country's top-25 teams.
Win Streak Ends at 10
With a win against rival TCU on Sept. 20, WVU tied the team's longest win streak since 2014, notching 10 consecutive victories in the span of 18 days. A 3-0 sweep of Tennessee at the Diet Coke Classic (Sept. 1-2) in Minneapolis got things started for the Mountaineers. West Virginia then went 4-0 at the Holiday Inn Invitational (Sept. 8-9) at Wright State and 3-0 at the Black Knights Invite (Sept. 15-16), hosted by Army, in West Point, New York. However, the streak was eventually snapped on Sept. 23 following the TCU win, as the team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to then-No. 6 Texas inside the WVU Coliseum.
WVU Claims the Golden Ball
The Mountaineers swept in-state foe Marshall on Sept. 12 to bring the Golden Ball Trophy back to Morgantown for the second time in two years. It marked WVU's first sweep of the Thundering Herd since 2010, as the Mountaineers claimed their last win in five sets in 2015. It also was West Virginia's first win in Huntington since 2000.
Not Up in Here!
West Virginia finished the 2017 season with 274.5 blocks, including 40 solo, to average 2.20 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the conference behind Baylor (2.22), Iowa State (3.00) and Texas (3.12).
Senior Mia Swanegan, a three-year starter at middle blocker, led the Mountaineers defensively, finishing third in league action with 1.23 blocks per set. The All-Big 12 Second Team honoree posted a team-high 150 blocks on the year, including 16 solo blocks. Sophomore Natania Levak ranked second on the team with 75 blocks.
All About That Ace
WVU also led the Big 12 in service aces throughout the course of the 2017 season, averaging 1.30 aces per set. The Mountaineers notched 163 service aces on the year, while holding their opponents to 134. Individually, sophomore Erin Slinde finished eighth in the conference with 0.22 aces per set. She recorded a total of 23 aces in 103 sets played.
Senior Tribute
The Mountaineers honored their five seniors (defensive specialists Gianna Gotterba and Taylor Cross, outside hitter Morgan Montgomery, senior setter Emma Anderson and Swanegan) in their home finale against Baylor on Nov. 18. All five seniors added a piece to the puzzle, finishing their Mountaineer careers with nothing but memories.
A four-year player and two-time team captain for the Mountaineers, Gotterba appeared in 105 matches and 383 career sets. A three-year starter at libero, she finished her career ranked fourth all-time with 1,362 career digs. She also is tied for fourth all-time with 3.56 digs per set.
Montgomery, who also was a four-year player for the Mountaineers, played in 97 matches and 292 career sets. She also was named a 2017 team captain alongside Gotterba. Montgomery notched a total of 719 kills throughout her career at WVU, averaging a .158 efficiency.
Following her freshman campaign at TCU, Swanegan appeared in 92 matches and 330 career sets for the Mountaineers. A three-year starter at middle blocker, she finished her career ranked fifth all-time with 1.12 blocks per set. She also ranks fifth all-time with 334 career block assists.
Cross transferred to West Virginia in the summer of 2015 after spending one season with New Mexico. She has played in 61 matches and 171 career sets for the Mountaineers, averaging 1.50 digs per set.
Anderson also came to Morgantown in 2017 after spending three seasons at South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference. She played in 25 matches and 53 career sets for the Mountaineers, averaging 7.43 assists per set.
"First of all, Gianna and Morgan stayed when I arrived in 2015," Sunahara said. "That was huge. Those two brought the experience and leadership that we needed. That was tremendous. My hats off to them. I can't thank them enough for staying. Then with Mia, Taylor and Emma coming, that was huge. Emma was here for a year, but Mia and Taylor were here for three years. I thought the five of them had a major impact on turning this program around to respectability. They helped us grow and build a foundation.
"Their work ethic is second-to-none. Their mindset was good as well. I would like to think that our younger players learned from them. They brought good energy. Hopefully, they will leave a legacy here, and we can build of that."
2017 Mountaineer Accolades
Taylor Cross
- Academic All-Big 12 First Team
- Academic All-Big 12 First Team
- Diet Coke Classic All-Tournament Team
- Black Knights Invitational Most Valuable Player
- WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (Sept. 18)
- Academic All-Big 12 First Team
- WVU Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Holiday Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Academic All-Big 12 First Team
- Academic All-Big 12 First Team
- Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team
- WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (Sept. 11)
- All-Big 12 Second Team
- Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
Players Mentioned
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MB
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