WVU Falls to Texas Tech

Thursday, November 18

Morgantown, W.Va.

5:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

17-8,6-7Big 12

Texas Tech

16-10,6-7Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Texas Tech	25	18	25	26	3
West Virginia	22	25	20	24	1

Digital Mountaineer Illustrated

Photo by: Corbin Mills

November 18, 2021 08:38 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Lindsay Auld

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team fell to Texas Tech on Thursday evening, in Morgantown, West Virginia, at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers (17-8, 6-7 Big 12) could not overcome the Red Raiders (16-10, 6-7 Big 12) in set scores of 25-22,18-25, 25-20 and 26-24.

"We didn't show up," coach Reed Sunahara said. "Tech played well. Hats off to them. We made too many mistakes. We won the second set, and had a little bit more energy. We played okay in the fourth, but other than that, I thought we were pretty flat and it is disappointing. So, we got to get better tomorrow."

West Virginia was led by five double-digit scores, including senior setter Lacey Zerwas, who recorded 43 assists, while fifth-year senior libero Alexa Hasting tallied 22 digs.

Additionally, three Mountaineers recorded double-digit kills, including fifth-year senior outside hitter Adrian Ell (16), fifth-year senior middle blocker Briana Lynch (11) and senior outside hitter Kristin Lux (10).

WVU finished the match, hitting .158 with a match-high 53 kills. The Mountaineers led the match with seven team blocks and 47 assists.

West Virginia opened the match and took an early 4-1 lead. The teams traded points, but a 3-0 scoring run from the Red Raiders tied the set, 9-9. TTU took the lead, but not for long. West Virginia took it back, 15-12. The set reached its first media timeout. TTU went on a 7-0 scoring run to secure the lead with set point, 24-19. WVU held on with a 3-0 scoring run, but Texas Tech took the set, 25-22.

WVU opened set the set similar to the first with a 4-1 lead. The squad used a few scoring runs to take a 17-10 lead. Texas Tech held on with a few scoring runs of its own and brought the score to 22-16. The Mountaineers continued to hold the lead to set point. Texas held on for one more point, but WVU took set two, 25-18.

Texas Tech opened set three with an early 4-1 lead. West Virginia brought the score to 4-3, but a 3-0 scoring run from the Red Raiders extended their lead, 7-3. An 8-0 scoring run from TTU gave the squad a sizable lead, 20-8. West Virginia got back into the game with multiple scoring runs and brought the score to 22-17. Trailing by five, the Mountaineers held on, but Texas Tech took set three, 25-20.

The Mountaineers took an early 7-1 lead, but the Red Raiders used a few scoring runs to tie the set 11-11. WVU went up 17-14, but Texas Tech used a 10-1 scoring run to reach set point, 24-19. The Mountaineers did not give up and held the Red Raiders at set point for three more points. Ultimately, TTU took the fourth set and match 25-22.

West Virginia returns to the court on Friday for another match against Texas Tech. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+.

Live stats and video for both matches can be found on WVUsports.com.

Friday's match is presented by Coca-Cola. It will be Senior Day, as WVU will celebrate their seniors' careers following the match's conclusion. The seniors include fifth-year senior outside hitter Athena Ardila, fifth-year libero and defensive specialist Alexa Hasting, senior outside hitter Kristin Lux, fifth-year senior middle blocker Briana Lynch, senior outside hitter Natali Petrova, redshirt junior defensive specialist Marielena Somoza, redshirt senior defensive specialist Alison Thomas and senior setter Lacey Zerwas.

Friday's match will also be Alumni Day, and the Mountaineers will honor former volleyball athletes in attendance.

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