The Mountaineers Sweep Navy

Saturday, September 4

Annapolis, Md.

7:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

5-0,0-0Big 12

Navy

3-3,0-0Patriot

West Virginia

Navy

Photo by: Ben Powell

September 04, 2021 09:37 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Lindsay Auld

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team swept Navy in the final match of the Navy Tournament on Saturday evening, at the Wesley A. Brown Field House, in Annapolis, Maryland. The Mountaineers (5-0) beat the Mids (3-3) in set scores of 25-15, 25-19 and 25-19.

After a match up at the 2019 Mountaineer Invitational, WVU faced host Navy for the fifth time in program history on Saturday. The Mountaineers now hold a 5-0 series record over the Mids.

"I thought we played well against two really good teams this weekend," said coach Reed Sunahara. "It was a defensive battle tonight. We knew that they would make us earn every point. It was a good win. We have a lot of work to do moving forward."

Fifth year middle blocker Briana Lynch recorded 15 kills, one short of her season-high, while also recording five blocks. Senior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting recorded 15 digs, and senior setter Lacey Zerwas recorded a match-high 29 assists and five digs.

Senior outside hitters Kristin Lux and Natali Petrova each tallied six kills and two blocks apiece against Navy. The blocks were a season-high for Petrova and tied Lux's season-high.

To wrap up the Mountaineer's stats for the night, fifth year setter Adrian Ell recorded seven kills, along with six digs to tie her season high.

The Mountaineers posted 40 kills for a .267 hitting efficiency, along with six team blocks in the win. The Mids had 24 kills for a .056 hitting efficiency and five team blocks. Of note, Avery Stowell led Navy's offense with 10 kills.

Navy took the first point, but WVU followed with a few scoring runs to take the lead. The teams traded points in the middle of the set, but the Mountaineers went on another scoring run to extend their lead, 23-14. Navy could not keep up, and WVU won the first set, 25-15.

Following a first set win, WVU opened the second set with a 3-0 scoring run. Navy retaliated with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game. A block assist from Petrova and from kill by Lynch extended the Mountaineers lead to 9-4 and forced a Navy timeout. Following the timeout, WVU went on a 3-0 run to take a seven-point lead (11-4). After alternating points, the Mids went on a 3-0 scoring run to cut the Mountaineer's led to 14-10. Navy used another timeout to their advantage and went on a 3-0 scoring run (18-14). A WVU scoring streak ultimately gave West Virginia the second set with a score of 25-19.

Lynch opened the set with a kill, but Navy followed with a 3-0 scoring run to take an early lead. WVU followed with a run of their own, which led to a Navy timeout. The Mountaineers continued their scoring run following the timeout. However, Navy broke the 11-0 run. WVU reached set and match point, but Navy went on a 6-0 run to bring the score to 24-19. A Navy service error led to a Mountaineer third-set victory at 25-19 for another West Virginia sweep.

Looking ahead, the Mountaineers travel to Buffalo, New York for a two-day tournament from Sept. 10-11. West Virginia will face American on Friday, Sept. 10, at noon ET., followed by co-host Canisius on Friday, at 6 p.m. The squad will close out the tournament with a match against co-host Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m.

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