Lynch Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

September 03, 2019 01:27 PM | General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Volleyball

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After helping WVU claim the 2019 Delaware Classic tournament title, West Virginia University volleyball junior middle blocker Briana Lynch has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Lynch started the season with an average hitting percentage of .381 to rank eighth in the Big 12.

The Johns Creek, Georgia, native helped WVU post a 3-0 record at the Delaware Classic, earning MVP honors in the process. Lynch posted a career-high 16 kills and hit .394 in a four-set win against host Delaware on Friday. In addition, she had nine kills on 17 attacks for a .412 hitting percentage in a 3-0 win over Coppin State and four kills on 13 attacks for a .308 hitting efficiency in a 3-0 sweep over Binghamton on Saturday. Lynch also posted five total blocks on the weekend.

This Week in Women's Soccer: WVU returns to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this Friday, Sept 6., for a 7 p.m. match against rival No. 7 Penn State … Friday's match has been designated the annual Gold Rush match … the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a gold jersey towel … all fans are encouraged to wear gold, and it's also Friday Night Happy Hour.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: WVU (2-2) split the second weekend of the season, defeating High Point, 3-0, on Aug. 30, before falling 4-1 to No. 6 Virginia on Sept. 1 … freshman defender Julianne Vallerand tallied two goals and sophomore midfielder Addison Clark added her first goal of the season to push the Mountaineers past the Panthers … Vallerand's first career game-winner came in the 76th minute as she broke a scoreless tie with a shot that landed in the right side of the net, before Clark's header in the 83rd minute pushed the lead to 2-0 … Vallerand completed the first multi-goal game of her career in the 84th minute to give WVU a 3-0 edge … the Mountaineers outshot the Panthers 22-5 in the contest, while holding an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks … senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster earned credit for the clean sheet, WVU's second of the season … on Sunday, three Virginia goals in the first half and an own goal in the 49th minute was too much for WVU to overcome, as the Mountaineers fell 4-1 … freshman forward Nicole Payne netted the first goal of her career in the 72nd minute after capitalizing on a rebound that bounced to the right side of the box … West Virginia finished the match with six shots, with three landing on goal.

Notes: Friday's match marks the eighth time in the past seven seasons that the Mountaineers and Nittany Lions have met … both teams have been ranked in seven those matches … PSU holds a 10-3-2 all-time advantage over the Mountaineers, while the series between the two teams is tied at four in Morgantown … Vallerand is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with three goals… Foster is tied for first in the league in shutouts and is fifth in saves (8).

This Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers return to Morgantown for their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 7, against Wright State … kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET … along with collecting the 2019 men's soccer poster, the first 300 fans will receive a WVU rally towel at the match.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia split its season-opening road trip, earning a 1-0 win at Monmouth on Aug. 30, before falling, 1-0, at Delaware on Sept. 2 … on Friday, senior forward Ethan Shim's 51st-minute goal was the difference as he kissed a ball off the post and into the back of the net to help the Mountaineers to the win … junior defender Kevin Morris earned the assist on Shim's goal, his first career game winner … junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made three saves against the Hawks, all of them coming after halftime … on Monday, WVU created several second-half chances but couldn't find a goal in the loss to the Blue Hens … Delaware's 20th-minute goal held up despite five saves from Tekesky and five second-half shots on goal by the Mountaineers.

Notes: The Mountaineers are 5-4 all-time against Wright State … the two squads last met on Oct. 9, 2018, a 3-0 Raider win … WVU has won seven of its last eight home openers, including three in a row … with Friday's victory, WVU improved to 8-6 in season openers under 14th-year coach Marlon LeBlanc … West Virginia was the only team in the Mid-American Conference to win its season-opening match … four Mountaineers – junior midfielder Pau Jimenez Albelda, sophomore forward Tony Pineda, freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera and freshman midfielder Luke McCormick – made their WVU debuts on Friday at Monmouth.

This Week in Volleyball: WVU (3-0) remains on the road, as the team travels west to San Diego, California, for a three-day tournament at San Diego State, from Sept. 5-7 … West Virginia will face Arkansas (3-0) in a 10 p.m. ET matchup on Thursday, Sept. 5, followed by a 9 p.m. ET contest against host San Diego State (2-1) on Friday, Sept. 6, at Peterson Gym on San Diego State's campus …. the Mountaineers will conclude the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7, with a 2 p.m. ET match against Arizona (2-1), which is receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll, inside Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego … of note, the Mountaineers match against the Aztecs will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.

Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia opened its 2019 season at the Delaware Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware … the Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 season-opening win over host Delaware on Friday … WVU concluded the two-day tournament with a pair of sweeps on Saturday, defeating Coppin State and Binghamton to win the 2019 Delaware Classic tournament title.

Notes: Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while sophomores Lacey Zerwas and Kristina Jordan earned all-tournament team honors for their efforts … redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams, a transfer from Xavier, earned her first career start for the Mountaineers, while freshman Natalie Winter made her collegiate debut vs. Delaware … as a team, West Virginia is hitting .271 and holding its opponents to a .127 clip … sophomore outside hitter Kristin Lux leads the team with 35 kills, averaging 3.50 per set, followed by Jordan with 30 kills to average 3.33 per set … junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting leads the floor defense with 55 digs, while Adams posted a team-high eight total blocks on the weekend ... additionally, the Mountaineers recorded their 700th win in program history at Delaware .. fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara also collected his 375th career victory.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers are off this week … the team returns to competition on Friday, Sept. 13, at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Last Week in Cross Country: WVU earned a third-place finish at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 30 … redshirt senior Olivia Hill led the way for the Mountaineers as she finished in second place with a time of 21:57.36 … Hill was closely followed by redshirt sophomore Marianne Abdalah, who captured fourth after crossing the finish line in 22:18.23 … a trio of redshirt freshmen made their Mountaineer debuts in a Gold and Blue uniform on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course as Malina Mitchell took 11th (22:51.27), followed by Peyton Kukura (25th – 23:31.25) and Amber Dombrowski (31st – 24:10.07).

Notes: Friday's race marked the Mountaineers' fifth visit to Lehigh since 2009 … the team has competed in the Lehigh Invitational three times, including season-opening victories in 2014 and 2017 … the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course also is the site of the 2019 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Nov. 15 … Abdalah's fourth-place finish was the top finish of her collegiate career.

This Week in Golf: West Virginia starts its fifth season of varsity competition on Sunday … the team travels to Independence, Minnesota, to compete at the Gopher Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 8, and Monday, Sept. 9 … Minnesota will play host to the event at Windsong Golf Club, with golfers playing 36 holes on Sunday followed by 18 on Monday … it marks the Mountaineers' most competitive season opener to date, as Big 12 foes Baylor and Oklahoma will be in attendance, along with Arkansas, Iowa, Kent State, Marquette, Michigan State, NC State, Purdue, San Diego State, Texas A&M and Utah.

Last Season in Golf: West Virginia capped a historic 2018-19 season with its first NCAA appearance in 72 years … Max Sear became the first Mountaineer in more than three decades to earn medalist honors when he won The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational in October … Sear guided WVU to the team title at the event … the Mountaineers finished the fall season sitting at No. 37 in the national rankings, a program-best … in April, West Virginia played host the 2019 Big 12 Men's Golf Championship at the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia … then-sophomore Matthew Sharpstene led the way with a 13th-place finish … the team's top-50 national ranking earned the Mountaineers a bid to the 2019 NCAA Louisville Regional, where they missed a national championship berth by just two strokes, taking sixth place … Sharpstene became the first-ever Mountaineer to earn PING Division I All-Region Team honors when he was named to the Midwest region team in May … several Mountaineers were honored for their work in the classroom … Sear, Etienne Papineau and Philipp Matlari earned Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar accolades as the team earned GCAA Academic Team honors for the third straight season … Papineau, Sear, Matlari and Tristan Nicholls were named to the Big 12 All-Academic First Team, while Sharpstene and Mark Goetz earned second-team honors … Kurtis Grant was named to the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team as well.

Notes: The 2019-20 marks the Mountaineers' fifth year of varsity competition … WVU is coming off a record-breaking season in 2018-19 that saw the team qualify for its first NCAA appearance since 1947 … four of the five players in the lineup at the Big 12 Championship and NCAA Louisville Regional will return this year: Matthew Sharpstene, Etienne Papineau, Philip Matlari and Logan Perkins… six members of the 2018 squad return, with Max Sear and Tristan Nicholls departing as graduates … the freshman trio of Christian Boyd, Nico Lang and Trent Tipton join the roster this year.