Box Score WACO, Texas – Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting eclipsed her 1,000th career dig, but the West Virginia University volleyball team was unable to overcome offensive struggles, as the Mountaineers suffered a 3-1 loss at No. 1 Baylor on Saturday afternoon, at the Ferrell Center, in Waco, Texas. The Lady Bears (17-1, 7-1) took the match from the Mountaineers (10-11, 1-7) in set scores of 25-19, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-18.
 
Hasting, a native of Plain City, Ohio, picked up her 1,000th career dig on her last dig of the match. The last Mountaineer to reach 1,000 career digs was Gianna Gotterba, as she hit the mark at Iowa State on Nov. 2, 2016.
 
"While it wasn't the outcome we wanted, it was a good learning experience for our team," fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "Now, we just have to take what we have learned and prepare for the second half of Big 12 play."
 
Senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans had a team-best 19 kills for WVU, while redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams added 10 kills in the match for a .280 hitting percentage.
 
Additionally, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 40 of the team's 45 assists, posting eight digs and a pair of blocks on the day. Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch led the team's blocking efforts with six total blocks, followed by senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde with four block assists to match her season high for the third time.
 
WVU finished the match hitting .164 with 46 kills and 10 team blocks.
 
The two teams traded points to start the opening set, but Baylor took advantage of four straight attacking errors from West Virginia to push its lead to five at 18-13 and never looked back. Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan found the floor twice to cut WVU's deficit to three at 20-17, but another 3-0 scoring surge brought BU to set point at 24-18. Sunahara kept the Mountaineers' hopes alive with a challenge on the next play, contesting that there was a touch on Adams' kill. The call was eventually overturned, as West Virginia remained within five late in the set. However, Baylor answered with a kill of its own for the 25-19 first-set victory and 1-0 match lead.
 
The struggles continued into the second set, as the Mountaineers dropped the frame, 25-17, to fall into a 2-0 hole in the match. BU grabbed an early lead, as WVU called its second and final timeout midway through the set, trailing 13-6. Consecutive kills from Evans and junior middle blocker Katie DeMeo trimmed West Virginia's deficit to five at 17-12, but the Lady Bears scored on a pair of kills and an ace for the 20-12 advantage late in the frame. WVU capitalized on two BU service errors down the stretch, down 22-15, but the Lady Bears scored three of the last five points to claim the 25-17 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Trailing 21-16 late in the third, Evans came up with a huge swing to jump start an 8-0 scoring run for West Virginia. Tied at 21-all, Baylor took its second and final timeout. Evans continued with the hot hands out of the stoppage though, scoring a trio of kills to bring the Mountaineers to set point at 24-21. The Lady Bears extended the frame with a kill of their own, but their next serve went into the net, as West Virginia claimed the 25-22 third-set victory to force a fourth.
 
Both squads exchanged points to start the fourth, but the Mountaineers could not outlast the Bears, as Baylor ended the frame on an 8-0 scoring run for the 25-18 victory and 3-1 triumph in the match.
 
Up next, West Virginia will cap the month of October by welcoming Kansas State to the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for a 6 p.m. ET matchup.
 
It is the first of two Dollar Nights planned for the year. All tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each. Attendees also are invited to enter a Halloween costume contest and a pumpkin patch phot station will be set up for pictures. Additionally, the Mountaineers will pass out candy following the match.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.