Wednesday, September 19
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
7-6, 0-1
1
vs
3
Iowa State
8-6, 1-0
1
2
3
4
F
Iowa State
21
35
25
25
3
West Virginia
25
33
21
21
1
Photo by: Katie MacCrory
WVU Drops Big 12 Opener to Iowa State
September 19, 2018 10:00 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Despite four Mountaineers notching double-digit kills, the West Virginia University volleyball team dropped its Big 12 Conference opener, 3-1, to Iowa State Wednesday evening, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown. The Cyclones (8-6, 1-0) took the match from the Mountaineers (7-6, 0-1) in set scores of 21-25, 35-33, 25-21 and 25-21.
"We were right there," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We had opportunities to win the second set. We had nine set points, but we couldn't put them away. That's on us. We have to keep fighting and keep doing what we are doing. We have to keep making plays.
"I was proud of the way we played tonight. Unfortunately, we came up with the L, but we have to keep pushing. Hopefully, it is a positive thing, and we can build off this."
Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans had a team-best 15 kills for WVU, followed by sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux with 12 kills each. Junior right side hitter Natania Levak rounded out the Mountaineers in double-digits with 10.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out a career-high 48 assists.
DeMeo led the blocking efforts with six total blocks, followed by freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan with five block assists.
Junior defensive specialist Gabrielle Cuckovich was one dig shy of a career high, recording 13 digs in the match. Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had 12, while sophomore defensive specialist Ava Richards added a season-high eight digs.
WVU finished the match hitting .225 with 58 kills and 12.0 team blocks. ISU hit .285 with 66 kills and 10.0 team blocks, as Jess Schaben and Josie Herbst led the Cyclones with 19 kills each.
Both teams traded points early in the first set before the Mountaineers used a late 3-0 scoring run for the 18-14 advantage. The Cyclones took a timeout, but were not able to regain the lead down the stretch. A kill from DeMeo gave the Mountaineers another four-point edge at 20-16. However, a pair of Cyclone kills forced West Virginia to use a timeout at 23-19. An ISU attacking error put WVU at set point, but a Mountaineer miscue and a kill from Herbst cut the Cyclones' deficit to three at 24-21. A tip over the net from Zerwas ended the frame in favor of the Mountaineers at 25-21, giving WVU the 1-0 match lead.
In an extended second set, WVU couldn't put things away and dropped the frame, 35-33. A 4-0 scoring run gave the Mountaineers a 6-4 lead before Iowa State took an early timeout. The teams battled to several ties before a kill from Lux brought up set point with a 24-23 lead for the Mountaineers. However, West Virginia couldn't close the deal. The Mountaineers would serve set point eight more times, while the Cyclones would serve to cap the set on two occasions. Following a WVU service error, ISU came up with a pair of kills, as well as a service ace, to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Attempting to carry some momentum into the third stanza, WVU used a pair of ISU attacking errors to its advantage, as well as a service ace from Zerwas, to come within one at 21-20. Iowa State called a timeout, as Grace Lazard and Schaben each put down a kill out of the stoppage to push its lead to three at 23-20. Evans found the middle of the floor, but it wasn't enough, as back-to-back Mountaineer miscues helped the Cyclones seal the deal for a 25-21 win and the 2-1 match lead.
West Virginia used a pair of kills from Evans, as well as back-to-back Iowa State attacking errors, for the 14-10 lead in the fourth set, forcing the Cyclones to call a timeout. Iowa State came within one out of the break, down 14-13. However, back-to-back points from WVU put ISU in a frenzy, as the Cyclones called their second timeout of the frame, trailing the Mountaineers by three. A late surge from Iowa State cut its deficit to one, as West Virginia took a timeout, holding a slim 19-18 lead. WVU's momentum continued to fade, though, as the match ended with ISU scoring seven of the last nine points for the 25-21 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 22, for a match against Texas Tech (11-3), at 2 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"We were right there," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We had opportunities to win the second set. We had nine set points, but we couldn't put them away. That's on us. We have to keep fighting and keep doing what we are doing. We have to keep making plays.
"I was proud of the way we played tonight. Unfortunately, we came up with the L, but we have to keep pushing. Hopefully, it is a positive thing, and we can build off this."
Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans had a team-best 15 kills for WVU, followed by sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo and freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux with 12 kills each. Junior right side hitter Natania Levak rounded out the Mountaineers in double-digits with 10.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out a career-high 48 assists.
DeMeo led the blocking efforts with six total blocks, followed by freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan with five block assists.
Junior defensive specialist Gabrielle Cuckovich was one dig shy of a career high, recording 13 digs in the match. Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had 12, while sophomore defensive specialist Ava Richards added a season-high eight digs.
WVU finished the match hitting .225 with 58 kills and 12.0 team blocks. ISU hit .285 with 66 kills and 10.0 team blocks, as Jess Schaben and Josie Herbst led the Cyclones with 19 kills each.
Both teams traded points early in the first set before the Mountaineers used a late 3-0 scoring run for the 18-14 advantage. The Cyclones took a timeout, but were not able to regain the lead down the stretch. A kill from DeMeo gave the Mountaineers another four-point edge at 20-16. However, a pair of Cyclone kills forced West Virginia to use a timeout at 23-19. An ISU attacking error put WVU at set point, but a Mountaineer miscue and a kill from Herbst cut the Cyclones' deficit to three at 24-21. A tip over the net from Zerwas ended the frame in favor of the Mountaineers at 25-21, giving WVU the 1-0 match lead.
In an extended second set, WVU couldn't put things away and dropped the frame, 35-33. A 4-0 scoring run gave the Mountaineers a 6-4 lead before Iowa State took an early timeout. The teams battled to several ties before a kill from Lux brought up set point with a 24-23 lead for the Mountaineers. However, West Virginia couldn't close the deal. The Mountaineers would serve set point eight more times, while the Cyclones would serve to cap the set on two occasions. Following a WVU service error, ISU came up with a pair of kills, as well as a service ace, to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Attempting to carry some momentum into the third stanza, WVU used a pair of ISU attacking errors to its advantage, as well as a service ace from Zerwas, to come within one at 21-20. Iowa State called a timeout, as Grace Lazard and Schaben each put down a kill out of the stoppage to push its lead to three at 23-20. Evans found the middle of the floor, but it wasn't enough, as back-to-back Mountaineer miscues helped the Cyclones seal the deal for a 25-21 win and the 2-1 match lead.
West Virginia used a pair of kills from Evans, as well as back-to-back Iowa State attacking errors, for the 14-10 lead in the fourth set, forcing the Cyclones to call a timeout. Iowa State came within one out of the break, down 14-13. However, back-to-back points from WVU put ISU in a frenzy, as the Cyclones called their second timeout of the frame, trailing the Mountaineers by three. A late surge from Iowa State cut its deficit to one, as West Virginia took a timeout, holding a slim 19-18 lead. WVU's momentum continued to fade, though, as the match ended with ISU scoring seven of the last nine points for the 25-21 win and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 22, for a match against Texas Tech (11-3), at 2 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
ISU
WVU
Kills
66
58
Errors
23
22
Attempts
151
160
Hitting %
.285
.225
Points
81.0
72.0
Assists
64
54
Aces
5
2
Blocks
10.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
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