Friday, September 14
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
5-5
3
vs
2
Morehead State
9-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
Morehead State
26
25
21
16
4
2
West Virginia
24
15
25
25
15
3
Photo by: Alex King
WVU Storms Back, Takes Down MSU in Five
September 14, 2018 11:24 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Playing in its second consecutive five-set match of the season, the West Virginia University volleyball team stormed back to take down Morehead State, 3-2, in its opening match of the 2018 Mountaineer Classic, held inside the WVU Coliseum, Friday evening. The Mountaineers (5-5) took the match from the Eagles (9-3) in set scores of 24-26, 15-25, 25-21, 25-16 and 15-4.
"We didn't play well to start, but they put us in that situation," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "Hats off to Morehead State. I thought they played well throughout the match. It was another opportunity for us to get better. I'm glad that we came out on top and extended the match to five sets. Hopefully, it is a good segue into tomorrow and it can give us some momentum."
A trio of Mountaineers finished the match hitting .240 or better, with the team hitting .201 on the evening. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans paved the way for WVU with a season-high 18 kills, hitting .293 in the process. Junior right side hitter Natania Levak had 11 kills, hitting .241, while sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux rounded out the Mountaineers in double digits with 10 each.
"I thought Katelyn got out of a little rut early," Sunahara said. "She played well, and she helped us tonight. If she can play like that then she's going to add some value to us and our team. We need that."
DeMeo also stepped up on the defensive side of the court, posting a career-high 12 blocks in the match. Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas, freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan and Evans each followed suit with six blocks apiece, while Levak added three.
"Katie had a good defensive game," Sunahara said. "She had a solo block and 11 assists. She's an intimidating figure out there. Hopefully, she can keep blocking balls. That's going to help our defense."
Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a season-high 14 digs. Zerwas also recorded her second consecutive double-double, tallying 12 digs and a career-high 41 assists on the evening.
As a team, West Virginia had 54 kills and just 24 errors on 149 total swings with a season-high 18 team blocks. Morehead State recorded 45 kills on 153 attacks with 10 blocks.
Trailing the Eagles 2-0 in the match, the Mountaineers came out rolling in the third set. WVU used back-to-back-to-back kills from Evans, as well as a trio of MSU attacking errors, for the early 6-2 advantage. Zerwas pushed the Mountaineers' lead to five following a service ace, as the Eagles used their first timeout of the frame, down 7-2. Both squads traded points out of the stoppage, but a pair of Levak kills put West Virginia on top at 11-5. Morehead State did not back down, though, scoring four of five points down the stretch to cut its deficit to five at 22-17. WVU used a timeout to regroup, reaching set point off a pair of MSU miscues out of the break. The Eagles used a late four-point scoring streak to come within three, but Evans kept the Mountaineers' hopes alive, putting one through the pins to give WVU the 25-21 victory.
The fourth set started similar to the third, with West Virginia taking an early 12-7 advantage before Morehead State took its first timeout of the frame. The Eagles scored off a Mountaineer service error out of the stoppage, but WVU continued to roll, scoring four straight points for the 16-8 lead. A Levak kill put WVU ahead 20-10, but MSU hung in there, scoring four of five points late in the set to come within eight, down 24-16. Howver, it was Lux who came up with a huge kill to win the set, 25-16, forcing a fifth set for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the fifth and never looked back. Morehead State scored on a pair of kills midway through the frame, but the Eagles couldn't recover, as West Virginia took five of the last six points for a 15-4 win in the set and a 3-2 victory in the match.
WVU wraps up the Mountaineer Classic on Saturday, as the team takes on Penn (3-7) at 11 a.m., followed by an evening tilt with Wake Forest (4-6) at 7 p.m.
"We have to stay focused," Sunahara said. "Penn is playing pretty well. They have some good pieces to their team, and we have to expose their weaknesses. We have to continue to get better."
Free doughnuts and coffee will be provided to the first 100 fans on Saturday. The first 250 fans at Saturday evening's match will receive a free t-shirt. Additionally, the second autograph session of the year will follow the Wake Forest match. Saturday evening also is an opportunity for Kids Club members to pick up their t-shirts.
Of note, the Mountaineers are seven wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 693-727 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"We didn't play well to start, but they put us in that situation," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "Hats off to Morehead State. I thought they played well throughout the match. It was another opportunity for us to get better. I'm glad that we came out on top and extended the match to five sets. Hopefully, it is a good segue into tomorrow and it can give us some momentum."
A trio of Mountaineers finished the match hitting .240 or better, with the team hitting .201 on the evening. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans paved the way for WVU with a season-high 18 kills, hitting .293 in the process. Junior right side hitter Natania Levak had 11 kills, hitting .241, while sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux rounded out the Mountaineers in double digits with 10 each.
"I thought Katelyn got out of a little rut early," Sunahara said. "She played well, and she helped us tonight. If she can play like that then she's going to add some value to us and our team. We need that."
DeMeo also stepped up on the defensive side of the court, posting a career-high 12 blocks in the match. Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas, freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan and Evans each followed suit with six blocks apiece, while Levak added three.
"Katie had a good defensive game," Sunahara said. "She had a solo block and 11 assists. She's an intimidating figure out there. Hopefully, she can keep blocking balls. That's going to help our defense."
Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a season-high 14 digs. Zerwas also recorded her second consecutive double-double, tallying 12 digs and a career-high 41 assists on the evening.
As a team, West Virginia had 54 kills and just 24 errors on 149 total swings with a season-high 18 team blocks. Morehead State recorded 45 kills on 153 attacks with 10 blocks.
Trailing the Eagles 2-0 in the match, the Mountaineers came out rolling in the third set. WVU used back-to-back-to-back kills from Evans, as well as a trio of MSU attacking errors, for the early 6-2 advantage. Zerwas pushed the Mountaineers' lead to five following a service ace, as the Eagles used their first timeout of the frame, down 7-2. Both squads traded points out of the stoppage, but a pair of Levak kills put West Virginia on top at 11-5. Morehead State did not back down, though, scoring four of five points down the stretch to cut its deficit to five at 22-17. WVU used a timeout to regroup, reaching set point off a pair of MSU miscues out of the break. The Eagles used a late four-point scoring streak to come within three, but Evans kept the Mountaineers' hopes alive, putting one through the pins to give WVU the 25-21 victory.
The fourth set started similar to the third, with West Virginia taking an early 12-7 advantage before Morehead State took its first timeout of the frame. The Eagles scored off a Mountaineer service error out of the stoppage, but WVU continued to roll, scoring four straight points for the 16-8 lead. A Levak kill put WVU ahead 20-10, but MSU hung in there, scoring four of five points late in the set to come within eight, down 24-16. Howver, it was Lux who came up with a huge kill to win the set, 25-16, forcing a fifth set for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the fifth and never looked back. Morehead State scored on a pair of kills midway through the frame, but the Eagles couldn't recover, as West Virginia took five of the last six points for a 15-4 win in the set and a 3-2 victory in the match.
WVU wraps up the Mountaineer Classic on Saturday, as the team takes on Penn (3-7) at 11 a.m., followed by an evening tilt with Wake Forest (4-6) at 7 p.m.
"We have to stay focused," Sunahara said. "Penn is playing pretty well. They have some good pieces to their team, and we have to expose their weaknesses. We have to continue to get better."
Free doughnuts and coffee will be provided to the first 100 fans on Saturday. The first 250 fans at Saturday evening's match will receive a free t-shirt. Additionally, the second autograph session of the year will follow the Wake Forest match. Saturday evening also is an opportunity for Kids Club members to pick up their t-shirts.
Of note, the Mountaineers are seven wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 693-727 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
MSU
WVU
Kills
45
54
Errors
36
24
Attempts
153
149
Hitting %
.059
.201
Points
60.0
74.0
Assists
42
49
Aces
5
2
Blocks
10.0
18.0
Game Leaders
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
12
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
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