Thursday, September 5
San Diego, Calif.
9:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
3
vs
0
Arkansas
Photo by: Katie MacCrory
WVU Records Third Straight Sweep
September 06, 2019 12:10 AM | Volleyball
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Hitting .258 in the match, the West Virginia University volleyball team swept Arkansas, 3-0, in the first of three matches at the 2019 SDSU/USD Tournament on Thursday evening, held inside Peterson Gym on San Diego State's campus. The Mountaineers (4-0) took the match from the Razorbacks (3-1) in set scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-22.
"It was a good win," said fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara. "I saw some good things tonight. It was another opportunity to get better, but we still have a lot to work on. We just have to continue to compete and get better at our craft."
Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch finished the match with a team-high 10 kills for a .533 hitting percentage. Redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams and sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan was good for eight kills each, while sophomore outside hitter Kristin Lux added seven.
Of note, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas assisted on 29 of WVU's 39 kills in the match.
Defensively, a trio of Mountaineers posted four block assists, with Lynch and Adams each adding a solo block for five total blocks on the evening. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with seven digs, while Jordan dug six balls of her own.
Hasting and Adams also added a pair of service aces to the team's total of five. The Mountaineers hit .258 with 39 kills and 10 team blocks. The Razorbacks recorded 33 kills on 90 attacks with eight team blocks.
West Virginia posted 15 kills in the first set to claim the 25-17 win over Arkansas. Tied at nine-all, the Mountaineers used a pair of service aces and a Razorback attacking error for the 12-9 lead and never looked back. Another 3-0 scoring surge from WVU put the Mountaineers ahead at 18-13, forcing UA to take its first timeout of the frame. Arkansas put down a kill out of the stoppage, but it wasn't enough, as Lux and Jordan found the floor to push WVU's lead to six at 22-16. Arkansas called its final timeout of the set, scoring another kill out of the break to cut its deficit to five, but three straight Razorback miscues handed the Mountaineers the 25-17 first-set victory and the 1-0 lead in the match.
The Mountaineers got into a rhythm early in the second set, using a pair of 4-0 scoring runs for a 9-2 lead over the Razorbacks. However, Arkansas went on a scoring streak of its own to come within two, down 9-7. A kill from Lux got the Mountaineers back on track, as both teams continued to exchange points down the stretch. West Virginia later scored five-of-six points for the 21-16 advantage, as Arkansas called a timeout. Lynch put one threw the gap, as the Mountaineers reached set point at 24-19. A WVU attacking error extended the set for UA, but senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde and Lynch teamed up for a stop to capture the 25-20 second-set win and 2-0 match advantage.
Tied at 12-all, West Virginia used a 7-0 scoring streak to jump out to a seven-point lead in the third and never looked back. Arkansas took a timeout, trailing 19-12, using three consecutive points to cut its deficit to four at 19-15. Adams and Jordan were able to put down a kill before a block from Lynch and DeMeo helped the Mountaineers reach set point at 24-19. The Razorbacks hung in there, though, scoring three straight points to come within two at 24-22. However, senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans came up with a huge swing to win the set at 25-22, recording West Virginia's third sweep of the season.
The Mountaineers return to the court on Friday with a 9 p.m. ET tilt against host San Diego State at Peterson Gym on SDSU's campus. The Mountaineers match against the Aztecs will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network. Live stats can be found on WVUsports.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"It was a good win," said fifth-year coach Reed Sunahara. "I saw some good things tonight. It was another opportunity to get better, but we still have a lot to work on. We just have to continue to compete and get better at our craft."
Junior middle blocker Briana Lynch finished the match with a team-high 10 kills for a .533 hitting percentage. Redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams and sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan was good for eight kills each, while sophomore outside hitter Kristin Lux added seven.
Of note, sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas assisted on 29 of WVU's 39 kills in the match.
Defensively, a trio of Mountaineers posted four block assists, with Lynch and Adams each adding a solo block for five total blocks on the evening. Junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with seven digs, while Jordan dug six balls of her own.
Hasting and Adams also added a pair of service aces to the team's total of five. The Mountaineers hit .258 with 39 kills and 10 team blocks. The Razorbacks recorded 33 kills on 90 attacks with eight team blocks.
West Virginia posted 15 kills in the first set to claim the 25-17 win over Arkansas. Tied at nine-all, the Mountaineers used a pair of service aces and a Razorback attacking error for the 12-9 lead and never looked back. Another 3-0 scoring surge from WVU put the Mountaineers ahead at 18-13, forcing UA to take its first timeout of the frame. Arkansas put down a kill out of the stoppage, but it wasn't enough, as Lux and Jordan found the floor to push WVU's lead to six at 22-16. Arkansas called its final timeout of the set, scoring another kill out of the break to cut its deficit to five, but three straight Razorback miscues handed the Mountaineers the 25-17 first-set victory and the 1-0 lead in the match.
The Mountaineers got into a rhythm early in the second set, using a pair of 4-0 scoring runs for a 9-2 lead over the Razorbacks. However, Arkansas went on a scoring streak of its own to come within two, down 9-7. A kill from Lux got the Mountaineers back on track, as both teams continued to exchange points down the stretch. West Virginia later scored five-of-six points for the 21-16 advantage, as Arkansas called a timeout. Lynch put one threw the gap, as the Mountaineers reached set point at 24-19. A WVU attacking error extended the set for UA, but senior right-side hitter Erin Slinde and Lynch teamed up for a stop to capture the 25-20 second-set win and 2-0 match advantage.
Tied at 12-all, West Virginia used a 7-0 scoring streak to jump out to a seven-point lead in the third and never looked back. Arkansas took a timeout, trailing 19-12, using three consecutive points to cut its deficit to four at 19-15. Adams and Jordan were able to put down a kill before a block from Lynch and DeMeo helped the Mountaineers reach set point at 24-19. The Razorbacks hung in there, though, scoring three straight points to come within two at 24-22. However, senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans came up with a huge swing to win the set at 25-22, recording West Virginia's third sweep of the season.
The Mountaineers return to the court on Friday with a 9 p.m. ET tilt against host San Diego State at Peterson Gym on SDSU's campus. The Mountaineers match against the Aztecs will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network. Live stats can be found on WVUsports.com.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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