Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team (3-5) opened the South Dakota Classic in Vermillion, South Dakota, on Friday, Sept. 9, with a doubleheader. The squad opened the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Northern Colorado (4-3) and fell to South Dakota (7-1) in its second match.
 
During the opening match, WVU started the tournament strong, taking the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-21, respectively. The Mountaineers finished out the win by taking set five with a score of 15-13.
 
Fifth-year senior outside hitter Adrian Ell led the Mountaineers against the Bears with 14 kills and 17.5 points. Ell also earned eight digs. She was followed by freshman middle blocker Melanie McGann, who recorded 13 kills, six blocks and 16 points.
 
Redshirt freshman setter Kamiah Gibson racked up 22 assists in the season opener, while 
Ell tallied 20 assists. This marks Ell's fourth double-double of the season.
 
Junior libero Skye Stokes led WVU with 25 digs, while McGann notched six blocks to lead the Mountaineers.
 
Additionally, West Virginia recorded 58 kills, 67 digs and ten services aces in the victory. WVU now leads the series against Northern Colorado, 1-0.
 
Following the victory against Northern Colorado, West Virginia competed against South Dakota, taking set three before falling in set four.
 
Ell led the Mountaineers with nine kills and 18 assists. Freshman outside hitter Bailey Miller also tallied nine kills to go with ten digs and two service aces, while Gibson notched 18 assists and two service aces of her own.
 
Stokes led WVU with 13 digs for the second time on Friday, and freshman libero Jordyn Schilling followed right behind with 12 digs.
 
Additionally, the team notched seven service aces and 56 digs in the second match of the day.
 
The squad closes out the tournament with a match against CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 12 p.m. ET, at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Live streams and live stats for the match can be found on WVUSports.com.

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