WVU Rolls Past Western Illinois

Friday, September 7

Ft. Myers, Fla.

3:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

3-4

Western Illinois

1-7

West Virginia

Western Illinois

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

September 07, 2018 05:53 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Amy Salvatore

FT. MYERS, Fla. – Hitting .212 in the match, the West Virginia University volleyball team swept Western Illinois, 3-0, in the first of three matches at the 2018 Florida Gulf Coast Tournament Friday afternoon, held inside FGCU's Alico Arena, in Ft. Myers, Florida. The Mountaineers (3-4) took the match from the Leathernecks (1-7) in set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-18.

"We're just taking things one point at a time," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We did some nice things, but there are always some things to work on. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow's matches against Albany and Florida Gulf Coast."

Junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans finished the match with a team-high 11 kills. Freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux and freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan was good for nine kills each, while sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo added eight.

DeMeo also posted four block assists, while Lux led the floor defense with a season-high 13 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor also notched double-digit digs in the match with 10. Junior setter Erin Slinde had 22 assists, while freshman setter Lacey Zerwas entered the third set, adding 12 to the team's total of 38.

Additionally, Jordan notched a team-high two services for WVU. The Mountaineers hit .212 with 43 kills and four team blocks. Western Illinois recorded 23 kills on 96 attacks with three team blocks.

Hitting .191 behind six kills from Evans, West Virginia handily claimed the first set, 25-21. The Leathernecks went on an early 3-0 run for the 5-2 lead, but a seven-point scoring streak from the Mountaineers put WVU ahead 11-6. However, Western Illinois rallied down the stretch, capitalizing on a pair of Mountaineer attacking errors to come within two at 20-18. Evans, Slinde and DeMeo each put one through the pins to give WVU the 23-18 advantage. Evans found the gap once again, bringing West Virginia to set point at 24-19, but a pair of Leatherneck kills extended the stanza. Western Illinois then took its second timeout of the frame, down 24-21, but Evans continued with the hot hands, using her sixth kill of the frame to end the set and give WVU the 1-0 lead in the match.

The Mountaineers got into a rhythm early in the second set, using a pair of 4-0 scoring runs for an 11-5 lead over the Leathernecks. However, Western Illinois went on a scoring streak of its own to come within three, down 14-11. Consecutive kills got the Mountaineers back on track, as both teams continued to exchange points down the stretch. Kills from Jordan and Slinde put WVU ahead 21-15, but the Leathernecks used a pair of Mountaineer miscues to remain in the set at 21-17. West Virginia countered with four straight points of their own, including a pair of service aces from Jordan, to win the set and take the 2-0 match advantage.

West Virginia jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the third set and never looked back. Western Illinois took a timeout, trailing 16-12, but the Mountaineers continued to roll, scoring three straight points out of the stoppage for the 19-12 advantage. The Leathernecks hung in there, though, using three straight Mountaineer attacking errors to come within six at 22-16. However, Evans was able to put down a kill, winning the set at 25-18, to record West Virginia's second sweep of the season.

West Virginia will conclude play at the two-day tournament on Saturday, as the squad takes on Albany (2-5), a 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC)-qualifying team, in a 1 p.m. ET matchup, as well as host Florida Gulf Coast (4-2) in a 7 p.m. evening tilt.

The Mountaineers match vs. the Great Danes will be streamed live on Facebook Watch, with Saturday evening's contest broadcasted live on ESPN3. Live stats and video links can be found at WVUsports.com.

Of note, the Mountaineers are nine wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 691-727 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.