MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team opens spring, regular-season action at No. 21 Western Kentucky on Friday, March 12. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET, inside E.A. Diddle Arena, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
 
Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the volleyball schedule page at WVUsports.com.
 
"It was a long break," sixth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "Any time you have that long of a break, it's tough. But we are back, and they are doing well in the gym. Are we at mid-season form yet? No. The unfortunate thing for us is that we haven't played a match yet this spring. Western Kentucky has played multiple matches. They have that game experience, and they are in their flow.
 
"They are a very good team and well coached. Travis (Hudson) has been there for a very long time. He built that program. They have had a lot of success, not just occasionally, but year-in and year-out. They are really good. I remember them when I was at Cincinnati. He does such a great job with that program. They have some good players."
 
The Mountaineers (8-8, 8-8 Big 12) and Hilltoppers (13-0, 8-0 C-USA) are set to meet for the second time in program history and the first time since 1996, when WVU earned a 3-1 victory at a neutral site.
 
Friday marks WVU's nonconference opener for the 2020-21 season. The Mountaineers are 6-11 all-time against Conference USA opponents. West Virginia last played a Conference USA foe on Nov. 7, 2018, when the Mountaineers defeated Marshall, 3-1, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown.
 
Last fall, WVU earned a program-best, 8-8 mark in its conference-only slate. The Mountaineers also were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15 Poll three times, climbing as high as No. 13 – also a program best. West Virginia captured its first win over a top-10 opponent, defeating No. 10 Kansas on back-to-back nights on Oct. 10-11, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, in Lawrence, Kansas.
 
WVU finished the fall season with 12.1 kills per set and 14.3 digs per set. Senior Briana Lynch paced the team with a .340 hitting efficiency, while classmate Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 3.70 digs per set.
 
Western Kentucky is led by 26th-year coach Travis Hudson, who holds a career mark of 655-215, the winningest coach in school history.
 
WKU has dropped two sets all season, winning 39-of-41 total sets played. The Hilltoppers most recently earned a pair of sweeps over FIU on March 7-8, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
 
Western Kentucky ranks No. 3 nationally with a .351 hitting efficiency led by junior middle hitter Lauren Matthews, who has notched 161 kills for 3.93 kills per set this season.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.