WVU Downs Delaware in Season Opener

Friday, August 30

Newark, Del.

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

1-0

Delaware

0-1

West Virginia

Delaware

Photo by: Steven Prunty

August 30, 2019 11:09 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: Amy Salvatore

NEWARK, Del.– The West Virginia University volleyball team bounced back after a second-set loss to Delaware, 3-1, in its opening match of the 2019 Delaware Classic, held at the Bob Carpenter Center, in Newark, Delaware, on Friday evening. The Mountaineers (1-0) took the match from the Blue Hens (0-1) in set scores of 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-15.

With today's win, the Mountaineers recorded their 700th win in program history. Fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara also collected his 375th career victory.

"We're just taking things one point at a time," 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 Coppin State and Binghamton."

A trio of Mountaineers finished the match in double-digits. Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch paved the way for WVU with a career-high 16 kills, hitting .394 in the process. Sophomores Kristina Jordan and Kristin Lux each added 14 kills on the evening, while redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams notched eight kills in her first career start as a Mountaineer.

Adams led the team's blocking efforts with four total blocks, while junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 19 digs.

Additionally, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas posted her first double-double of the season, dishing out 46 assists and recording a career-high 18 digs.

As a team, West Virginia had 55 kills and just 23 errors on 155 total swings with nine team blocks. Delaware also recorded 55 kills on 170 attacks with eight team blocks. Of note, Maria Bellinger led the Blue Hens' offense with 19 kills.

WVU came from behind in set one, winning by a score of 25-23 for the 1-0 match advantage. Zerwas served up an ace to tie the frame at 21-all before a UD attacking error handed WVU the lead. The Blue Hens used a timeout, notching a kill and an ace out of the stoppage to regain the lead at 23-22. Though it was the Mountaineers who came through in the end, posting a trio of kills to close out the frame and take a 1-0 match lead.

WVU started the second set in a 15-8 hole before using a pair of UD miscues to its advantage, as well as an ace from Jordan and a kill from Lux, to come within three, down 15-12. West Virginia continued to put up a fight down the stretch, as a trio of Delaware attacking errors helped the Mountaineers tie the set at 16-16. The Blue Hens did not back down though, scoring five of the next six points for the 21-17 advantage. Adams found the floor twice, and Jordan later put one through the pins to tie the frame at 21-all. However, the Blue Hens rattled off four of the last six points to claim the 25-23 victory, tying the overall match at one set apiece.

Back-to-back kills from Delaware put the Blue Hens up 20-19 late in the third, forcing the Mountaineers to call a timeout and regroup. Jordan came up with a huge swing out of the stoppage to tie the frame at 20-all, while Lynch put the Mountaineers at set point with a kill of her own. Bellinger kept the Blue Hen's hopes alive, putting one through the pins, but Lynch answered with another kill to hand West Virginia the 25-23 third-set victory.

The Mountaineers put the match away in the fourth frame, racking up 14 kills to roll to a 25-15 victory. West Virginia used a 7-0 scoring run to take a 16-6 advantage and never looked back. A trio of Delaware kills halted WVU's run at 16-9, but West Virginia countered with four straight points of its own for the 20-9 lead. A late kill from Lynch put the Mountaineers at set point, as WVU capitalized on a UD attacking error for the fourth-set win, as well as the 3-1 match victory.

The squad will conclude the Delaware Classic on Saturday, as it takes on Coppin State in an 11 a.m. ET matchup, as well as Binghamton in a 4:30 p.m. ET afternoon tilt.

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