Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Buffalo, N.Y. – The Mountaineers (7-0) began competition at the WNY Invitational in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 10, with a double-header. The squad opened the tournament with a 2-0 tournament record and their sixth sweep of the season. WVU swept American (3-4) in the first match, at Alumni Arena, in set scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-19.
 
Following the win, West Virginia saw action at Koessler Athletic Center with a match against co-host Canisius (0-8). The Mountaineers beat the Golden Griffins in set scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-14.
 
"It was a good day for us," said coach Reed Sunahara. "Tonight was a good match and Canisius played well. We have a long way to go, but we are getting better with every opponent. I thought our defense made a difference after the first set."
 
Redshirt senior setter Adrian Ell led the Mountaineers after recording a season-high 12 digs, along with six kills and one assist in the match. She was followed by senior outside hitter Natali Petrova, who recorded a team-best 11 kills, two service aces, two assists and nine digs. Of note, Petrova tied her dig season-best.
 
Fifth-year middle blocker Briana Lynch recorded nine kills and five blocks, while senior setter Lacey Zerwas recorded 33 total assists and four blocks.
 
With 16 digs in the match, senior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the match, and sophomore outside hitter Skye Stokes led the match with three service aces.
 
To wrap up the Mountaineer's stats for game one on Friday, freshman middle blocker Madison Page tallied four blocks and one service ace.

The Mountaineers posted 40 kills for a .202 hitting efficiency, along with nine team blocks in the win. The Eagles had 26 kills for a .053 hitting efficiency and nine team blocks.

West Virginia opened the match, but the teams alternated points early in the set. WVU went on a 7-0 scoring run to take a 16-9 lead, but AU rallied with a 5-0 scoring run of their own. WVU then followed with a 7-0 run to bring the score to 23-14. A kill from Lux gave the Mountaineers set one with a final score of 25-16.
 
Following a first set win, WVU opened the second set with a 2-0 scoring run. American retaliated with a 4-0 run of their own to take the lead. The team's alternated points, but WVU went on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 17-9 lead. American could not catch up, and West Virginia secured the second set, 25-15.
 
American struck first and took an early 2-4 lead in the third set, but four Mountaineer kills and a 6-0 scoring run gave WVU a 15-7 lead. After a few short scoring runs, AU made a comeback but could not take the lead. After a few alternating points, WVU protected its lead and won the final set and match with a score of 25-19.
 
In the final match of the day, Petrova matched her career-high four service aces, along with tallying 14 kills and eight digs. She was followed by Lux who recorded 11 kills in the match.
 
Zerwas led the team with 35 assists, along with eight digs and Lynch recorded a team-best five blocks and eight kills.

The Mountaineers posted 43 kills for a .265 hitting efficiency, along with 10 team blocks in the win. The Golden Griffins had 27 kills for a .133 hitting efficiency and six team blocks.
 
Canisius struck first in set one. West Virginia followed with a trio of kills. The teams then alternated points until Canisius went on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 9-15 lead. WVU went on a run of its own to tie the game, 16-16. Following the run, the teams traded points, but WVU took a two-point lead and won the set, 25-23.
 
The Golden Griffins took an early lead in set two to force a quick West Virginia timeout. Following the timeout, the teams traded points, but WVU went on a 6-0 scoring run and took an 8-7 lead. Later on, WVU went on another scoring run to bring the score to 19-14. The teams alternated points, but Page and Lux blocked the ball and gave WVU the 25-17 win.
 
Set three opened with a Canisius kill, but Lux answered with one of her own. WVU goes on multiple runs throughout the set and does not look back. A Canisius attack error led to a Mountaineer third-set victory at 25-14 for another West Virginia sweep.
 
WVU and American met for the third time in program history on Friday. In their last meeting in 1995, the Mountaineers swept the Eagles. WVU holds a 3-0 series record.
 
West Virginia squared up with Canisius for the fourth time in program history. The Mountaineers beat the Golden Griffins in three sets in 2013, and WVU now holds the series record, 4-0.

The squad will close out the tournament with a match against co-host Buffalo (3-3) on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m., at Alumni Arena. Live streams and live stats for the matches can be found on WVUsports.com.
 
For the 10th time in program history, West Virginia will play Buffalo, holding a 9-0 series advantage over the Bulls. In their last meeting, WVU swept UB in 2013.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball onTwitter,Instagram and Facebook.