Mountaineers Return to the Court
August 11, 2020 07:06 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team began its 2020 season on Tuesday, returning to the court for preseason practices at the Basketball Practice Facility.
A total of eight letterwinners, including five starters, return to the Mountaineers this season. WVU also is set to welcome six freshmen and two transfers to the program. The squad is coming off a 12-17 season in 2019, which included its 700th win in program history. Sixth-year coach Reed Sunahara also collected his 375th career victory.
"Despite all the unknowns this season, it felt great to step out on the court again," Sunahara said. "Our goal is to get one percent better, but we also want our girls to be safe, and I think we have accomplished both so far."
West Virginia returns a pair of offensive weapons from last fall, led by senior middle blocker Briana Lynch, who was most recently named to the 2020 All-Big 12 Preseason Team, as well as junior setter Lacey Zerwas. Lynch had a .301 hitting efficiency last season, landing on the All-Big 12 Second Team for the first time in her career. Zerwas averaged a team-high 10.33 assists per set to rank fourth in the league.
Defensively, senior libero Alexa Hasting anchored WVU's floor defense in 2019 and ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.18 digs per set.
WVU also welcomes back redshirt senior middle blocker Audrey Adams and junior outside hitter Kristin Lux with starting experience. Additional returners include sophomore Natalie Winter, junior Marielena Somoza and senior Lindsay Proctor.
Additionally, eight newcomers look to make their Mountaineer debut this season: Meghan Dombrowski, Sydney Giamalis, Emmy Ogogor, Natali Petrova, Grace Slader, Skye Stokes, Melisa Temiz and Alison Thomas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
A total of eight letterwinners, including five starters, return to the Mountaineers this season. WVU also is set to welcome six freshmen and two transfers to the program. The squad is coming off a 12-17 season in 2019, which included its 700th win in program history. Sixth-year coach Reed Sunahara also collected his 375th career victory.
"Despite all the unknowns this season, it felt great to step out on the court again," Sunahara said. "Our goal is to get one percent better, but we also want our girls to be safe, and I think we have accomplished both so far."
West Virginia returns a pair of offensive weapons from last fall, led by senior middle blocker Briana Lynch, who was most recently named to the 2020 All-Big 12 Preseason Team, as well as junior setter Lacey Zerwas. Lynch had a .301 hitting efficiency last season, landing on the All-Big 12 Second Team for the first time in her career. Zerwas averaged a team-high 10.33 assists per set to rank fourth in the league.
Defensively, senior libero Alexa Hasting anchored WVU's floor defense in 2019 and ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.18 digs per set.
WVU also welcomes back redshirt senior middle blocker Audrey Adams and junior outside hitter Kristin Lux with starting experience. Additional returners include sophomore Natalie Winter, junior Marielena Somoza and senior Lindsay Proctor.
Additionally, eight newcomers look to make their Mountaineer debut this season: Meghan Dombrowski, Sydney Giamalis, Emmy Ogogor, Natali Petrova, Grace Slader, Skye Stokes, Melisa Temiz and Alison Thomas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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