Covas Named Student-Athlete of the Week

September 18, 2023 11:54 AM | Golf, Men's Soccer, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball

Student-Athlete of the Week Sept. 18, 2023

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fifth-year libero Camilla Covas of the West Virginia volleyball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Covas set a career-high on Sept. 15 against Robert Morris with 30 digs in the 3-1 victory at the WVU Coliseum. She collected 48 digs at the Mountaineer Invitational on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15 laminating herself as a defensive lock for the squad.

The Mountaineers kick off conference play on Thursday, Sept. 21 against Iowa State at the WVU Coliseum. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. ET.

This Week in Women's Soccer: West Virginia returns to Morgantown to open its home Big 12 slate with a pair of matches … WVU plays host to Iowa State on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m., before welcoming TCU to Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium for a rematch of the 2022 Big 12 Tournament championship game on Sunday, Sept. 24.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: WVU suffered a 4-2 loss to league newcomer UCF in its Big 12 Conference opener in Orlando on Sept. 14 … even though the Mountaineers scored the first goal with senior midfielder Isabel Loza's first tally of the season, UCF score three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead … fifth-year senior forward/defender Julianne Vallerand put WVU one score closer with a penalty kick goal in the 61st minute, but the Knights added a fourth score to solidify the win.

Notes: Sophomore forward Taylor White leads the Mountaineer offense with four goals this season, as well as 10 points … junior forward Dilary Heredia-Beltran holds the team lead in assists and shots, with three and 20, respectively … with her first goal of the season against UCF, Loza became West Virginia's 11th different goal scorer this season.

This Week in Men's Soccer: The fourth-ranked Mountaineers return to Morgantown for two home games this week … WVU will play Dayton on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before hosting Sun Belt foe Georgia Southern on Friday at 7 p.m.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia remained undefeated this past week with a 2-2 draw on the road against No. 5 UCF to be 5-0-1 on the season … sophomore Marcus Caldeira scored for the sixth straight game to begin the season and has seven total goals … senior Thomas Decottignies scored his first goal with the Mountaineers … Luke McCormick picked up his 19th-career assist, tying him with Andy Bevin for fourth in program history.

Notes: The Mountaineers are ranked fourth in the United Soccer Coaches poll, second highest in program history, only topped by a No. 3 ranking in 2021 … Marcus Caldeira's seven goals this season are the most since Rodrigo Robles Grajera scored nine goals in 2019 … Caldeira is the reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week and the College Soccer News National Player of the Week … despite allowing two goals against the Knights, WVU is only allowing 0.50 goals per game this season … the goal for Thomas Decottignies was the first for a Mountaineer defender since both Aaron Denk Gracia and Bjarne Thiesen scored against American last season … Carlos Hernando has made two straight TopDrawerSoccer National Teams of the Week and has played all 540 minutes this season.

This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia (6-6) kicks off conference play against Iowa State on Thursday, Sept. 21, and Friday, Sept. 22, at the WVU Coliseum … both matches will start at 6 p.m. ET … Thursday night's match will feature a trucker hat giveaway to the first 250 fans in attendance… Friday night's match will feature a Women in Sports Night … tickets can be purchased online at WVUGAME.com or in person at the WVU Coliseum Ticket Office one hour prior to first serve … fans who are not able to attend can follow live at WVUsports.com or on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Last Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers opened their home slate Sept. 14-15, and played host to the Mountaineer Invitational at the WVU Coliseum … West Virginia dropped the opening match against Old Dominion, 3-0, and closed out Thursday's action with a 3-0 sweep over North Dakota State with scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-23 … WVU capped the tournament on Friday night with a 3-1 win over Robert Morris ... freshman middle blocker Maddy McGath set a career-high of 17 kills along with fifth year senior Camilla Covas who set a career high with 30 digs.

Notes: Covas and McGath were named to the Mountaineer Invitational All-Tournament Team … West Virginia ranks 31st nationally in kills per set with 13.73.

This Week in Cross Country: West Virginia will head to the Lock Haven Invitational in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Sept. 23 … the race will be held at the West Branch Cross Country Course and kicks off at 11 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers competed at the RMU Colonial Invitational in Clinton, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 16 ... the Mountaineers finished third overall with a team score of 83 ... freshman Lexi Lamb finished first overall with a time of 17:27.40 followed by freshman Audrey Hall in second place with a time of 17:31.15.

Notes: Alexis Lamb made her collegiate debut at the RMU Colonial Invitational on Sept. 16, finishing first overall ... Lamb's victory was the program's first gold medal of the season.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia will compete in Charleston, West Virginia, in the Thunder in the Mountains from Sept. 22-24.

Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers competed in the Wahoowa Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sept. 15-17, collecting nine wins over the course of the three-day invitational ... the doubles pair of graduate student Ting-Pei Chang and senior Momoko Nagato went 1-1 over the weekend ... graduate student Love-Star Alexis and redshirt sophomore Maja Dodik paired up in doubles to go 1-2 overall ... Chang and Nagato led the way in singles play, with both going 2-1 overall in the invitational ... Alexis and Dodik each went 1-2 overall.

Notes: The Mountaineers are led by a veteran group with two graduate students, one senior, three juniors and a redshirt sophomore ... Alexis transferred from Middle Tennessee State during the offseason after compiling 89 career wins for the Blue Raiders ... head coach Miha Lisac named a new assistant coach for the upcoming season, as Calvin Song joins the program after spending the last three seasons at Fresno State.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle until the Big 12 Match Play Championship in Hockley, Texas, from Oct. 9-11.

Last Week in Golf: Three West Virginia golfers finished in the top 20 at the Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota, from Sept. 10-11 … junior Max Green tied for sixth place at 2-under-par with rounds of 73-68-70=211 … seniors Jackson Davenport (71-70-73=214) and Oli Ménard (72-70-72=214) both finished tied for 18th place at 1-over-par … freshman Harrison Thompson tied for 45th place at +6 (73-73-73=219), and sophomore Carson Kammann recorded rounds of 84-74-80=238 … West Virginia posted rounds of 289-281-288=858 (+6) to finish in ninth place, one shot behind Notre Dame, two shots behind Rutgers and three shots behind host Minnesota … WVU finished ahead of Iowa State (+14), Northern Illinois (+14), Miami University (+15), Utah (+18) and Furman (+35).