Friday, August 24
Morgantown, W.Va.
10:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
1-0
3
vs
1
Georgia Southern
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
Georgia Southern
11
19
25
18
1
West Virginia
25
25
20
25
3
Photo by: Steven Prunty
WVU Downs GS in Season Opener
August 24, 2018 04:01 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team bounced back after a third-set loss to defeat Georgia Southern, 3-1, in its opening match of the 2018 WVU Invitational, held inside the WVU Coliseum, Friday morning. The Mountaineers (1-0) took the match from the Eagles (0-1) in set scores of 25-11, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-18.
Two Mountaineers finished the match hitting .400 or better, with the team hitting .246 on the day. Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo paved the way for WVU with a career-high 13 kills, hitting .455 in the process. Freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan had nine kills, hitting .400, while junior hitters Katelyn Evans and Natania Levak and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux each added eight.
DeMeo also stepped up on the defensive side of the court, posting eight block assists in the match. Jordan followed suit with seven, while junior setter Erin Slinde added five.
Sophomore Lindsay Proctor earned her first career start at the libero position, matching her career high in digs with 15. Lux added 10 digs and had a team-high three service aces in the match.
Additionally, Slinde shared the court with freshman setter Lacey Zerwas, as she dished out 31 of the team's 48 assists.
As a team, West Virginia had 50 kills and just 20 errors on 122 total swings with 15 team blocks. Georgia Southern recorded 34 kills on 126 attacks with seven team blocks.
The Mountaineers handily claimed the first set over the Eagles by a score of 25-11. WVU used a pair of kills from Jordan on its way to an early 8-2 lead before GS took its first timeout of the frame. West Virginia capitalized on six of the next eight points out of the stoppage, including two service aces from Lux, for a 14-4 advantage in the match. The Mountaineers continued to dominate, punching in on another scoring run to take a 22-9 lead over the Eagles. A pair of Georgia Southern attacking errors put the Mountaineers at set point, as Lux put down a kill for the 25-11 first-set victory.
West Virginia took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-19 win in set two. The Mountaineers trailed the Eagles, 10-9, before scoring five straight points for the 14-10 advantage. A service error halted the Mountaineers run, but back-to-back kills from Levak pushed WVU's lead to five to go ahead 16-11. Georgia Southern took a timeout to regroup, down 18-12, but West Virginia went on to score six of the next nine points to reach set point at 24-15. Georgia Southern extended the set with a 4-0 run of its own, but a kill from Evans gave WVU the 25-19 win, putting the squad ahead 2-0 in the match.
After playing to 12 ties throughout the course of the set, Georgia Southern scored five of the last six points for the 25-20 win in the third stanza. With the match tied at 18-all, the Eagles used a Mountaineer attacking error to their advantage, as well as a service ace from GS' Joscelin Morrow, for a 20-18 lead. Coach Reed Sunahara took his first timeout of the frame, as Evans came up with a kill to bring the Mountaineers within one out of the stoppage. However, the Eagles notched a trio of kills of their own, as well as a service ace from Brooke Birch, to reach set point. Unfortunately, a kill from DeMeo was not enough, as a Mountaineer attacking error allowed the Eagles to claim the third set, 25-20.
The Mountaineers put the match away in the fourth frame, racking up 14 kills to roll to a 25-18 victory. With the set tied at 16-16, West Virginia used a 6-0 scoring run to take a 22-16 advantage. A Georgia Southern kill halted WVU's run, but a pair of errors from the Eagles brought the Mountaineers to set point at 24-17. GS extended the set with a kill, but DeMeo countered with one of her own to win the set and the match, 3-1.
West Virginia returns to the court for an evening tilt with the Huskies at 7 p.m. Youth players who attended WVU volleyball camps this year also are welcomed back for a Camper Reunion Night Friday evening. Additionally, WVU will give away jersey koozies to the first 250 fans in attendance.
On Saturday, the Mountaineers will wrap up the WVU Invitational with a canned food drive against Wright State at 3 p.m. Fans who bring a canned food item to donate to The Rack, WVU's student food bank, are eligible for a discounted ticket ($2).
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
When purchasing online, tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more. At the WVU Coliseum ticket window, tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until first serve on game day. Fans are encouraged to order tickets in advance online at WVUGAME.com to avoid lines at the gate.
Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Two Mountaineers finished the match hitting .400 or better, with the team hitting .246 on the day. Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo paved the way for WVU with a career-high 13 kills, hitting .455 in the process. Freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan had nine kills, hitting .400, while junior hitters Katelyn Evans and Natania Levak and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux each added eight.
DeMeo also stepped up on the defensive side of the court, posting eight block assists in the match. Jordan followed suit with seven, while junior setter Erin Slinde added five.
Sophomore Lindsay Proctor earned her first career start at the libero position, matching her career high in digs with 15. Lux added 10 digs and had a team-high three service aces in the match.
Additionally, Slinde shared the court with freshman setter Lacey Zerwas, as she dished out 31 of the team's 48 assists.
As a team, West Virginia had 50 kills and just 20 errors on 122 total swings with 15 team blocks. Georgia Southern recorded 34 kills on 126 attacks with seven team blocks.
The Mountaineers handily claimed the first set over the Eagles by a score of 25-11. WVU used a pair of kills from Jordan on its way to an early 8-2 lead before GS took its first timeout of the frame. West Virginia capitalized on six of the next eight points out of the stoppage, including two service aces from Lux, for a 14-4 advantage in the match. The Mountaineers continued to dominate, punching in on another scoring run to take a 22-9 lead over the Eagles. A pair of Georgia Southern attacking errors put the Mountaineers at set point, as Lux put down a kill for the 25-11 first-set victory.
West Virginia took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-19 win in set two. The Mountaineers trailed the Eagles, 10-9, before scoring five straight points for the 14-10 advantage. A service error halted the Mountaineers run, but back-to-back kills from Levak pushed WVU's lead to five to go ahead 16-11. Georgia Southern took a timeout to regroup, down 18-12, but West Virginia went on to score six of the next nine points to reach set point at 24-15. Georgia Southern extended the set with a 4-0 run of its own, but a kill from Evans gave WVU the 25-19 win, putting the squad ahead 2-0 in the match.
After playing to 12 ties throughout the course of the set, Georgia Southern scored five of the last six points for the 25-20 win in the third stanza. With the match tied at 18-all, the Eagles used a Mountaineer attacking error to their advantage, as well as a service ace from GS' Joscelin Morrow, for a 20-18 lead. Coach Reed Sunahara took his first timeout of the frame, as Evans came up with a kill to bring the Mountaineers within one out of the stoppage. However, the Eagles notched a trio of kills of their own, as well as a service ace from Brooke Birch, to reach set point. Unfortunately, a kill from DeMeo was not enough, as a Mountaineer attacking error allowed the Eagles to claim the third set, 25-20.
The Mountaineers put the match away in the fourth frame, racking up 14 kills to roll to a 25-18 victory. With the set tied at 16-16, West Virginia used a 6-0 scoring run to take a 22-16 advantage. A Georgia Southern kill halted WVU's run, but a pair of errors from the Eagles brought the Mountaineers to set point at 24-17. GS extended the set with a kill, but DeMeo countered with one of her own to win the set and the match, 3-1.
West Virginia returns to the court for an evening tilt with the Huskies at 7 p.m. Youth players who attended WVU volleyball camps this year also are welcomed back for a Camper Reunion Night Friday evening. Additionally, WVU will give away jersey koozies to the first 250 fans in attendance.
On Saturday, the Mountaineers will wrap up the WVU Invitational with a canned food drive against Wright State at 3 p.m. Fans who bring a canned food item to donate to The Rack, WVU's student food bank, are eligible for a discounted ticket ($2).
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
When purchasing online, tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more. At the WVU Coliseum ticket window, tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until first serve on game day. Fans are encouraged to order tickets in advance online at WVUGAME.com to avoid lines at the gate.
Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
GS
WVU
Kills
34
50
Errors
29
20
Attempts
126
122
Hitting %
.040
.246
Points
45.0
70.0
Assists
34
48
Aces
4
5
Blocks
7.0
15.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
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