Saturday, November 30
Morgantown, W.Va.
1:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
12-17, 3-13
3
vs
2
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
9-17, 5-11
1
2
3
4
5
F
Kansas
25
25
22
22
8
2
West Virginia
20
19
25
25
15
3
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Closes 2019 Regular Season with Comeback Win
November 30, 2019 06:15 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Trailing 2-0 in the match, the West Virginia University volleyball team came back from two sets down to capture a 3-2 win over Big 12 foe Kansas on Saturday afternoon, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown. WVU (12-17, 3-13) topped KU (9-17, 5-11) in set scores of 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22 and 15-8.
"They played with more energy (in the last three sets)," fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We cut our errors down. We had 20 hitting errors in the first two sets, and we hit negative in the second. We had to keep the ball in play and be aggressive. Overall, I thought they did a nice job. Once we won the third, I thought we built some momentum, and it got better after that."
West Virginia has taken Kansas to five sets in four of its last five matches. With today's win, the Mountaineers defeated the Jayhawks at the WVU Coliseum for the first time in program history.
Following the match, the Mountaineers honored their 2019 senior class: defensive specialist Gabrielle Cuckovich, outside hitter Katelyn Evans and right-side hitter Erin Slinde.
"I'm glad that we came back, and I'm glad the match ended the way that it did for our seniors," Sunahara said. "I thank them for their careers here. They are great people. That's why we recruited them. They have been here for four years. They understand the program. They understand where its been and where we want it to go, and I'm happy that they chose to come to West Virginia."
Evans ended her Senior Day with a double-double, the first of her career, registering 17 kills and 11 digs for a career high. The Palmdale, California, native also added three total blocks in the match to lead the team's blocking efforts alongside junior middle blocker Katie DeMeo.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams paved the way for WVU offensively, posting a career-high 19 kills for a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan added 12 swings, while senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde notched 10 kills, hitting .375, to round out the Mountaineers in double figures.
Additionally, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas notched her 10th double-double of the season, dishing out 54 assists and registering 16 digs in the match. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 24 digs to match her season high, while sophomore defensive specialist Keatan Broughton dug 10 balls on the day.
Zerwas, Jordan and Hasting each contributed a service ace to the scoresheet. West Virginia hit .209 with a season-high 71 kills and six team blocks. Led by Morgan Christon's 19 kills, Kansas hit .202 with 11 team bocks and 58 kills.
Trailing 2-0 in the match, the Mountaineers jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the third and never looked back. Zerwas served up an ace down the stretch, putting the score at 17-11 in favor of WVU and forcing KU to use its final timeout of the frame. The Jayhawks strung together a pair of 3-0 scoring runs out of the stoppage to come within two at 20-18, though Jordan later put down a kill to give the Mountaineers a three-point cushion at 23-20. KU was back within two following a WVU attacking error, but Evans came up with a huge swing to put the Mountaineers at set point at 24-21. A Kansas service error eventually handed West Virginia the 25-22 third-set victory, keeping the Mountaineers' hopes alive on Senior Day.
The fourth set started similar to the third, with West Virginia holding a 21-14 advantage before Kansas capitalized on a pair of scoring runs to come within two at 23-21. WVU called a timeout to regroup, with both teams exchanging attacking errors out of the stoppage. West Virginia eventually won the fourth frame, 25-22, on another Kansas service error, tying the overall match at two sets apiece and forcing a fifth set in Morgantown for the first time since Sept. 21.
Back-to-back kills from Adams jumped started a 4-0 scoring run for WVU in the fifth. The Mountaineers later rattled off three in a row, including a pair of kills from Evans, for a 9-4 lead at the switch. West Virginia continued to roll, capitalizing on consecutive errors from Kansas for the six-point advantage at 11-5. KU cut its deficit to four with back-to-back kills, but WVU scored four of the last five points to win the set, 15-8, walking away with the 3-2 victory.
The Mountaineers ended the 2019 season with a 12-17 overall mark and 3-13 record in Big 12 play.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"They played with more energy (in the last three sets)," fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "We cut our errors down. We had 20 hitting errors in the first two sets, and we hit negative in the second. We had to keep the ball in play and be aggressive. Overall, I thought they did a nice job. Once we won the third, I thought we built some momentum, and it got better after that."
West Virginia has taken Kansas to five sets in four of its last five matches. With today's win, the Mountaineers defeated the Jayhawks at the WVU Coliseum for the first time in program history.
Following the match, the Mountaineers honored their 2019 senior class: defensive specialist Gabrielle Cuckovich, outside hitter Katelyn Evans and right-side hitter Erin Slinde.
"I'm glad that we came back, and I'm glad the match ended the way that it did for our seniors," Sunahara said. "I thank them for their careers here. They are great people. That's why we recruited them. They have been here for four years. They understand the program. They understand where its been and where we want it to go, and I'm happy that they chose to come to West Virginia."
Evans ended her Senior Day with a double-double, the first of her career, registering 17 kills and 11 digs for a career high. The Palmdale, California, native also added three total blocks in the match to lead the team's blocking efforts alongside junior middle blocker Katie DeMeo.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams paved the way for WVU offensively, posting a career-high 19 kills for a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan added 12 swings, while senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde notched 10 kills, hitting .375, to round out the Mountaineers in double figures.
Additionally, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas notched her 10th double-double of the season, dishing out 54 assists and registering 16 digs in the match. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 24 digs to match her season high, while sophomore defensive specialist Keatan Broughton dug 10 balls on the day.
Zerwas, Jordan and Hasting each contributed a service ace to the scoresheet. West Virginia hit .209 with a season-high 71 kills and six team blocks. Led by Morgan Christon's 19 kills, Kansas hit .202 with 11 team bocks and 58 kills.
Trailing 2-0 in the match, the Mountaineers jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the third and never looked back. Zerwas served up an ace down the stretch, putting the score at 17-11 in favor of WVU and forcing KU to use its final timeout of the frame. The Jayhawks strung together a pair of 3-0 scoring runs out of the stoppage to come within two at 20-18, though Jordan later put down a kill to give the Mountaineers a three-point cushion at 23-20. KU was back within two following a WVU attacking error, but Evans came up with a huge swing to put the Mountaineers at set point at 24-21. A Kansas service error eventually handed West Virginia the 25-22 third-set victory, keeping the Mountaineers' hopes alive on Senior Day.
The fourth set started similar to the third, with West Virginia holding a 21-14 advantage before Kansas capitalized on a pair of scoring runs to come within two at 23-21. WVU called a timeout to regroup, with both teams exchanging attacking errors out of the stoppage. West Virginia eventually won the fourth frame, 25-22, on another Kansas service error, tying the overall match at two sets apiece and forcing a fifth set in Morgantown for the first time since Sept. 21.
Back-to-back kills from Adams jumped started a 4-0 scoring run for WVU in the fifth. The Mountaineers later rattled off three in a row, including a pair of kills from Evans, for a 9-4 lead at the switch. West Virginia continued to roll, capitalizing on consecutive errors from Kansas for the six-point advantage at 11-5. KU cut its deficit to four with back-to-back kills, but WVU scored four of the last five points to win the set, 15-8, walking away with the 3-2 victory.
The Mountaineers ended the 2019 season with a 12-17 overall mark and 3-13 record in Big 12 play.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
KU
WVU
Kills
58
71
Errors
22
31
Attempts
178
191
Hitting %
.202
.209
Points
73.0
80.0
Assists
51
67
Aces
4
3
Blocks
11.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB/OH
/ VolleyballS/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballVB: BYU Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 04
2025 Volleyball Coal Rush Uniform Reveal
Thursday, October 02
Jen Greeny | Sept. 23 | ESPN+ Halftime Interview
Tuesday, September 30
VB: Dolphin Volleyball Classic Cinematic Recap
Sunday, September 21
