Wednesday, September 26
Morgantown, W.Va.
6:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
8-7, 1-2
3
vs
0
Kansas State
10-4, 0-3
1
2
3
F
Kansas State
21
15
17
0
West Virginia
25
25
25
3
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Sweeps K-State
September 26, 2018 10:13 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team collected its first Big 12 Conference win of the season with a 3-0 sweep over Kansas State Wednesday evening, held inside the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown. The Mountaineers (8-7, 1-2) downed the Wildcats (10-4, 0-3) in set scores of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-17.
West Virginia moves to 8-7 on the year, earning its fourth sweep of the season. With the win, WVU has picked up a victory over K-State in its last three meetings.
"I thought we rebounded," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We were resilient. For the most part, we played pretty consistent throughout the match. We did some nice things tonight, but we have a lot to work on. We are going to get back to work tomorrow and go from there."
Four Mountaineers hit above .330, as junior right side hitter Natania Levak paved the way with a match-high hitting percentage of .647, recording 11 kills on 17 total attempts and no errors. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans followed suit with 10, while freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux and freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan each added six.
"They worked hard the past couple days," Sunahara said. "I know they were disappointed after Saturday's loss, but they came back and did a nice job from a serving and passing standpoint. That put us in situations where we were in a system a lot, so we could set the hit the way we wanted to."
Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo had eight block assists to lead WVU's blocking efforts, while Levak finished the night with six for a season high. Jordan added a trio of block assists as well.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 31 of the team's 34 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 11 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Keatan Broughton had six. Zerwas and Lux also added five digs apiece.
WVU had a season-high nine service aces on the evening, as Zerwas and Jordan each added a trio of aces. Additionally, sophomore defensive specialist Ava Richards, Broughton and Hasting each contributed an ace to the Mountaineers' total.
West Virginia ended the night hitting .290, the fifth time this season the squad has hit .225 or better. The Mountaineers registered 40 kills on 93 total attempts with 11.0 team blocks and 37 digs. Kylee Zumach had seven kills to lead the Wildcats, who hit .152 with 30 kills and 3.0 team blocks.
Evans, Levak and Jordan teamed up to provide the bulk of the WVU offense in the first set, scoring 10 of the 14 Mountaineer kills in the 25-21 win. K-State held a 9-8 advantage early on before West Virginia used back-to-back-to-back kills, as well as an ace from Zerwas, to take the lead. From there, both squads traded points down the stretch. K-State used a trio of Mountaineer miscues to come within one at 18-17, forcing West Virginia to take a late timeout to regroup. Jordan put down a kill out of the stoppage, followed by back-to-back service aces, to push the Mountaineers' lead to four at 21-17. Evans found the floor twice, but the Wildcats hung around, scoring on two straight kills to cut their deficit to two, down 23-21. West Virginia then used its second timeout of the frame, as a Levak kill brought the Mountaineers to set point. A block ended the frame in favor of the Mountaineers, as WVU walked away with the 25-21 victory and 1-0 match lead.
The Mountaineers rolled to a 25-15 win in the second set, hitting .229 with 14 kills. West Virginia capitalized on four consecutive errors from Kansas State, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to start the frame. The Wildcats took a timeout, down 10-3, scoring four in a row out of the stoppage to come within three. The Mountaineers answered with four straight points of their own, including a trio of kills, to push their lead back to seven at 15-8. A service error halted WVU's run, but Evans found the floor once again, starting another Mountaineer scoring streak. Levak notched back-to-back kills, followed by a service ace from Zerwas. Evans laid another one down to make it 20-9 before a K-State kill put a stop to WVU's 5-0 run. Zerwas tipped one over the net, placing West Virginia at set point with a 24-14 lead. Evans then buried the ball through the pins to win the set, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead in the match.
WVU carried the momentum into the third set, hitting .259 with 10 kills for a 25-17 win. With the stanza tied at 10 points apiece, Jordan put down a kill and served up an ace for the 12-10 Mountaineer lead. DeMeo and Evans then teamed up for a block, as K-State took a timeout midway through the frame. Back-to-back kills brought the Wildcats within two at 16-14, but it wasn't enough, as a trio of K-State attacking errors and an ace from Broughton put WVU ahead, 20-14. DeMeo added a kill before Hasting put one through the pins for an ace at 22-15. Levak and Lux each came up with a kill to bring WVU to set point, as Richards tallied the Mountaineers' ninth ace of the night for the 25-17 third-set victory, handing WVU the sweep.
Of note, the Mountaineers are four wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 696-730 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes on perennial national contender No. 4 Texas on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. Saturday's match features a mini volleyball giveaway for the first 500 fans, courtesy of Coca-Cola. The match also will be a part of WVU volleyball's Alumni Weekend. The Mountaineers will sign autographs following the match.
The Mountaineers and the Longhorns first met in August of 2012, as Saturday marks the first match of the season between the two teams. Texas currently holds a 12-0 all-time advantage in the series. However, WVU took then-No. 6 Texas to five sets in its first of two matches last season.
"Hopefully, we can build confidence and build some momentum," Sunahara said. "Texas is really good. We have to play well and compete hard. We'll see what happens."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
West Virginia moves to 8-7 on the year, earning its fourth sweep of the season. With the win, WVU has picked up a victory over K-State in its last three meetings.
"I thought we rebounded," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We were resilient. For the most part, we played pretty consistent throughout the match. We did some nice things tonight, but we have a lot to work on. We are going to get back to work tomorrow and go from there."
Four Mountaineers hit above .330, as junior right side hitter Natania Levak paved the way with a match-high hitting percentage of .647, recording 11 kills on 17 total attempts and no errors. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans followed suit with 10, while freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux and freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan each added six.
"They worked hard the past couple days," Sunahara said. "I know they were disappointed after Saturday's loss, but they came back and did a nice job from a serving and passing standpoint. That put us in situations where we were in a system a lot, so we could set the hit the way we wanted to."
Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo had eight block assists to lead WVU's blocking efforts, while Levak finished the night with six for a season high. Jordan added a trio of block assists as well.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 31 of the team's 34 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 11 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Keatan Broughton had six. Zerwas and Lux also added five digs apiece.
WVU had a season-high nine service aces on the evening, as Zerwas and Jordan each added a trio of aces. Additionally, sophomore defensive specialist Ava Richards, Broughton and Hasting each contributed an ace to the Mountaineers' total.
West Virginia ended the night hitting .290, the fifth time this season the squad has hit .225 or better. The Mountaineers registered 40 kills on 93 total attempts with 11.0 team blocks and 37 digs. Kylee Zumach had seven kills to lead the Wildcats, who hit .152 with 30 kills and 3.0 team blocks.
Evans, Levak and Jordan teamed up to provide the bulk of the WVU offense in the first set, scoring 10 of the 14 Mountaineer kills in the 25-21 win. K-State held a 9-8 advantage early on before West Virginia used back-to-back-to-back kills, as well as an ace from Zerwas, to take the lead. From there, both squads traded points down the stretch. K-State used a trio of Mountaineer miscues to come within one at 18-17, forcing West Virginia to take a late timeout to regroup. Jordan put down a kill out of the stoppage, followed by back-to-back service aces, to push the Mountaineers' lead to four at 21-17. Evans found the floor twice, but the Wildcats hung around, scoring on two straight kills to cut their deficit to two, down 23-21. West Virginia then used its second timeout of the frame, as a Levak kill brought the Mountaineers to set point. A block ended the frame in favor of the Mountaineers, as WVU walked away with the 25-21 victory and 1-0 match lead.
The Mountaineers rolled to a 25-15 win in the second set, hitting .229 with 14 kills. West Virginia capitalized on four consecutive errors from Kansas State, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to start the frame. The Wildcats took a timeout, down 10-3, scoring four in a row out of the stoppage to come within three. The Mountaineers answered with four straight points of their own, including a trio of kills, to push their lead back to seven at 15-8. A service error halted WVU's run, but Evans found the floor once again, starting another Mountaineer scoring streak. Levak notched back-to-back kills, followed by a service ace from Zerwas. Evans laid another one down to make it 20-9 before a K-State kill put a stop to WVU's 5-0 run. Zerwas tipped one over the net, placing West Virginia at set point with a 24-14 lead. Evans then buried the ball through the pins to win the set, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead in the match.
WVU carried the momentum into the third set, hitting .259 with 10 kills for a 25-17 win. With the stanza tied at 10 points apiece, Jordan put down a kill and served up an ace for the 12-10 Mountaineer lead. DeMeo and Evans then teamed up for a block, as K-State took a timeout midway through the frame. Back-to-back kills brought the Wildcats within two at 16-14, but it wasn't enough, as a trio of K-State attacking errors and an ace from Broughton put WVU ahead, 20-14. DeMeo added a kill before Hasting put one through the pins for an ace at 22-15. Levak and Lux each came up with a kill to bring WVU to set point, as Richards tallied the Mountaineers' ninth ace of the night for the 25-17 third-set victory, handing WVU the sweep.
Of note, the Mountaineers are four wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 696-730 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes on perennial national contender No. 4 Texas on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. Saturday's match features a mini volleyball giveaway for the first 500 fans, courtesy of Coca-Cola. The match also will be a part of WVU volleyball's Alumni Weekend. The Mountaineers will sign autographs following the match.
The Mountaineers and the Longhorns first met in August of 2012, as Saturday marks the first match of the season between the two teams. Texas currently holds a 12-0 all-time advantage in the series. However, WVU took then-No. 6 Texas to five sets in its first of two matches last season.
"Hopefully, we can build confidence and build some momentum," Sunahara said. "Texas is really good. We have to play well and compete hard. We'll see what happens."
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
KSU
WVU
Kills
30
40
Errors
16
13
Attempts
92
93
Hitting %
.152
.290
Points
35.0
60.0
Assists
29
34
Aces
2
9
Blocks
3.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
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