Friday, November 12
Washington, DC
6 p.m.
West Virginia University
17-7,6-6Big 12
3
at
0
Howard University
14-12,11-2MEAC
1
2
3
F
West Virginia
25
25
25
3
Howard
12
12
23
0
Photo by: Rylan Nemesh
West Virginia Tops Howard
November 12, 2021 08:13 PM | Volleyball
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team swept Howard on Friday evening, in Washington D.C., at Burr Gymnasium. The Mountaineers (17-7, 6-6 Big 12) took the match from the Bison (14-12,11-2 MEAC) in set scores of 25-12, 25-12 and 25-23.
"I thought we were good the first two sets, then struggled a little in the third," coach Reed Sunahara said. "It was a good road win for us. We have less than a week to prepare for Texas Tech."
West Virginia was led by two Mountaineers who tallied double-digit scores, including fifth-year senior outside hitter Athena Ardila, who recorded a season-high 11 kills, and senior setter Lacey Zerwas, who recorded 30 assists. Zerwas also recorded a career-high six service aces.
WVU finished the match, hitting a season-best .402 with 45 kills and six team blocks. Additionally, the Mountaineers recorded eight service aces.
West Virginia opened the match on a 5-0 scoring run. They continued to hold a strong lead throughout the set. In the middle of the set, the Mountaineers held a 14-6 lead. A service ace from Ardila brought the match to set point, 24-11. A Howard kill kept the game alive, but WVU responded with a kill and took set one, 25-12.
The Mountaineers open set two with a 7-0 scoring run. Howard brings the game to a six-point difference early on, 12-6, but WVU used a 3-0 scoring run to extend its lead. Two more WVU points led to an HU timeout. A 5-0 scoring run from West Virginia secured set two, 25-12.
Set three opened with a West Virginia point. The teams then traded points and kept the score close early on. A 4-0 scoring run helped push WVU into the lead, 12-8. They followed with another 4-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 17-11. The Bison fought back and went on a 5-0 scoring run of their own to get back into the match, 17-16. Howard went on to tie the set at 18 and then took its first lead of the match.
A 4-0 scoring run from the Mountaineers put them back in the lead, 23-20. WVU reached set point and closed out set three and the match-winning, 25-23.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will welcome Texas Tech to the WVU Coliseum for a pair of matches on Nov. 18-19. Thursday's match will begin at 5 p.m. ET, followed by Friday's match at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers will honor the seniors on Friday night prior to the match.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVU Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"I thought we were good the first two sets, then struggled a little in the third," coach Reed Sunahara said. "It was a good road win for us. We have less than a week to prepare for Texas Tech."
West Virginia was led by two Mountaineers who tallied double-digit scores, including fifth-year senior outside hitter Athena Ardila, who recorded a season-high 11 kills, and senior setter Lacey Zerwas, who recorded 30 assists. Zerwas also recorded a career-high six service aces.
WVU finished the match, hitting a season-best .402 with 45 kills and six team blocks. Additionally, the Mountaineers recorded eight service aces.
West Virginia opened the match on a 5-0 scoring run. They continued to hold a strong lead throughout the set. In the middle of the set, the Mountaineers held a 14-6 lead. A service ace from Ardila brought the match to set point, 24-11. A Howard kill kept the game alive, but WVU responded with a kill and took set one, 25-12.
The Mountaineers open set two with a 7-0 scoring run. Howard brings the game to a six-point difference early on, 12-6, but WVU used a 3-0 scoring run to extend its lead. Two more WVU points led to an HU timeout. A 5-0 scoring run from West Virginia secured set two, 25-12.
Set three opened with a West Virginia point. The teams then traded points and kept the score close early on. A 4-0 scoring run helped push WVU into the lead, 12-8. They followed with another 4-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 17-11. The Bison fought back and went on a 5-0 scoring run of their own to get back into the match, 17-16. Howard went on to tie the set at 18 and then took its first lead of the match.
A 4-0 scoring run from the Mountaineers put them back in the lead, 23-20. WVU reached set point and closed out set three and the match-winning, 25-23.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will welcome Texas Tech to the WVU Coliseum for a pair of matches on Nov. 18-19. Thursday's match will begin at 5 p.m. ET, followed by Friday's match at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers will honor the seniors on Friday night prior to the match.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVU Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
WVU
HOW
Kills
45
25
Errors
10
10
Attempts
87
76
Hitting %
.402
.197
Points
59.0
32.0
Assists
38
24
Aces
8
3
Blocks
6.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
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