Box Score  
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University women's volleyball team fell to Illinois in round one of the NCAA Tournament, on Friday evening, in Lexington, Kentucky, at Memorial Coliseum. The Mountaineers could not overcome the Fighting Illini in set scores of 23-25, 25-12, 25-22, and 25-20.
 
The Mountaineers earned their first-ever bid in the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
 
"Congrats to Illinois for advancing," coach Reed Sunahara said. "It's not the way we wanted to end, but I am proud of our players and our program for getting to the tournament, and making it this far. They made history, and I am proud of them for working hard and getting us here."
 
West Virginia was led by fifth-year senior outside hitter Adrian Ell, who recorded her 12th double-double of the season, with 19 kills and 12 digs. 
 
Additionally, four Mountaineers tallied double-digit scores, including senior setter Lacey Zerwas, who recorded 45 assists, while senior outside hitter Kristin Lux added12 kills to the match.
 
Fifth-year senior libero Alexa Hasting tallied 26 digs, and sophomore outside hitter Skye Stokes recorded 11 digs.
 
WVU finished the match hitting .184, with 52 kills and six team blocks.
 
The Mountaineers opened the match with an early 10-3 lead. Illinois used a 3-0 scoring run to bring the set to 10-6. The teams traded points until the Fighting Illini took a 13-11 lead. The teams traded the lead, but a 4-0 scoring run from WVU gave the Mountaineers set one, 25-23.
 
Illinois used a 5-0 scoring run to open set two. They went on to take an early 11-4 lead. A few strong scoring runs gave Illinois set two, 25-12.
 
UI opened set three, but WVU responded with a kill. Illinois took the lead 5-3. West Virginia fought back with a 3-0 scoring run to take the lead 6-5. The Fighting Illini used a 9-1 scoring run to take back the lead, 15-9. The teams traded scoring runs, but UI held the lead, 23-16. A 5-0 Mountaineer scoring run brought the Mountaineers within two points, but Illinois took set three 25-22.
 
Lux opened set four with a kill, and the teams traded points. A 3-0 scoring run gave West Virginia the lead, 7-5, but Illinois followed with a scoring run of its own to take back the lead, 8-7. An 8-0 scoring run from UI extended its lead. Illinois brought the set to 24-18, but West Virginia was not ready to give up. The Mountaineers held on for two more points but fell in the final set, 25-20. 
 
WVU entered the tournament with a 19-9 mark this fall, good for a third-place finish in the Big 12 Conference. The squad went 8-8 in Big 12 play.
 
The Mountaineer's hard work this season paid off. Opening the season 10-0 for the first time since 2017, West Virginia swept No. 23 Michigan in a match on Sept. 3. The team tallied its first win at Iowa State and a season sweep over Oklahoma for the first time in program history.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVU Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.