WVU Downs K-State in Four

Saturday, October 12

Manhattan, Kan.

2:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

9-8, 1-4Big 12

Kansas State

6-11, 1-4Big 12

West Virginia

K-State

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

October 12, 2019 05:41 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Amy Salvatore

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The West Virginia University volleyball team collected its first Big 12 Conference win of the season with a 3-1 victory at Kansas State Saturday afternoon, at Ahearn Field House, in Manhattan, Kansas. The Mountaineers (9-8, 1-4) downed the Wildcats (6-11, 1-4) in set scores of 18-25, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19.

"We knew we could have taken care of the ball better in the first set," fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We had to control the ball and make plays in the final sets, and that's what we did. We still have a lot of room for improvement, but it feels good to get our first conference win under our belt, especially on the road."

With the win, WVU has picked up a victory over K-State in four of its last five meetings, including a home-and-away series sweep in 2017.

A pair of Mountaineers hit above .350 in the match, notching double-digit kills in the process. Senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans paved the way, posting a season-high 22 kills for a .375 hitting efficiency. Evans notched her fifth double-digit match of the season and fourth 20-kill performance of her career. Redshirt junior Audrey Adams also hit a team-high .400, recording 10 kills on the day. Additionally, Adams led the team's blocking efforts with four block assists.

Sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 48 of the Mountaineers' 57 assists, adding a trio of block assists and a pair of aces in the match.

Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 19 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Natalie Winter also notched double-digits for the second consecutive contest, digging 11 balls to match her career high set on Thursday at Kansas. Additionally, junior defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor rounded out the Mountaineers in double-digits, recording 10 digs in the match. Of note, Winter also contributed a pair of aces to the Mountaineers' total of seven, which matched their season best also set at Kansas on Thursday.

West Virginia capped the day hitting .291, the eighth time this season the squad has hit .225 or better. The Mountaineers registered 62 kills on 148 total attempts with five team blocks and 60 digs. Anna Dixon had 11 kills to lead the Wildcats, who hit .254 with 44 kills and six team blocks.

West Virginia got off to a rocky start in set one, falling behind 19-13 after a 7-1 K-State run. WVU called a timeout to regroup and rattled off back-to-back-to-back kills, including a pair from sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan, to come within three at 19-16. The Wildcats took a timeout, scoring back-to-back points out of the stoppage to increase their lead to five at 21-16. Senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde came up with a huge swing, as well as an ace, to cut WVU's deficit to three, but K-State prevailed down the stretch, scoring four in a row to claim the 25-18 victory and 1-0 match lead.

Both squads exchanged points early in the second set before West Virginia racked up six straight points for the 15-9 advantage. WVU continued to bring the heat, as another 5-0 scoring run put the Mountaineers on top for good at 20-11. A K-State kill halted WVU's streak, but junior middle blocker Briana Lynch later put down a kill to push the Mountaineers' lead back to nine at 23-14. A Wildcat service error put West Virginia at set point, as Evans laid down her 10th kill of the match for the 25-17 second-set victory, tying the overall match at 1-1.

West Virginia took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-18 win in set three. The two teams traded points to start the set before the Mountaineers scored four straight for the 15-8 lead. K-State called a timeout, but the Mountaineers continued to roll, scoring five of seven points down the stretch for the 20-12 advantage. The Wildcats hung around though, racking up four in a row to cut their deficit to four at 20-16. West Virginia used a timeout, as Evans and Adams each placed one through the pins out of the break for the 22-17 lead. Winter later served up an ace to bring the Mountaineers to set point, as another kill from Adams handed WVU the 25-18 victory.

The Mountaineers put the match away in the fourth frame, racking up 19 kills to notch a .484 hitting percentage in the set. Evans put down back-to-back kills to take a 12-11 lead over the Wildcats midway through the frame. Slinde added another kill to the scoresheet down the stretch, putting WVU up four at 17-13. However, K-State went on a 3-0 scoring streak to come within one, forcing West Virginia to call a timeout and regroup. Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Lux, Slinde and Evans each came up with a kill out of the stoppage, increasing WVU's lead to three at 20-17. The Mountaineers ultimately capitalized on five of the last seven points for the 25-19 win, as Evans came up with her 22nd kill of the day for the 3-1 triumph in the match.

Up next, the Mountaineers will close their three-match road swing with a 6 p.m. tilt at Morehead State on Tuesday, Oct. 15. The nonconference match will air live on ESPN+.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.