2023-10-14 23:31:20
Story Links
Next Match:
Cincinnati
10/19/2023 | 6 p.m.
ESPN+
Oct. 19, 19 (Thursday) / 6 pm
Cincinnati
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team (8-12, 1-6 Big 12) earned its first Big 12 Conference victory of the season, defeating TCU in a five-set match on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. West Virginia took the victory 3-2 with scores of 30-28, 34-32, 25-16, 25-21 and 15-11.
“I’m proud of how we played. We were resilient and stayed in the battle,” WVU coach Reed Sunahara said. “We will continue to build upon this win.”
Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Miller led the floor with 23 kills, while junior outside hitter Hailey Green and sophomore middle blocker Tierney Jackson chipped in 17 and 14, respectively.
Fifth year libero Camilla Covas set a career record with 35 digs once morest the Horned Frogs.
Redshirt senior setter Lauren DeLo added a double-double with 56 assists and a career-high 17 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Samiha Foster and sophomore outside hitter Quincey Coyle notched nine digs each.
A 4-0 scoring run at the halfway point of the first set put West Virginia on the cusp of victory for the first time in the match, trailing the Horned Frogs 15-14. Three consecutive kills from sophomore middle blocker Maddy McGath, DeLo and Miller paired with two TCU errors would tie it up at 21. A hammer from Miller would give West Virginia the lead, 27-26, for the first time in the match. TCU would go on to seal the set with a kill, 30-28.
Four straight points would yet once more be the catalyst for West Virginia, as they captured the 17-15 lead at the halfway point of the second. It was a battle for points, with the score being tied 17 different times. The Mountaineers would pull away with the 34-32 set-two win, courtesy of a kill from Miller and a pair of Horned Frog errors.
West Virginia struggled in the third, with TCU running off with an 8-5 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Green would slow the Horned Frogs to only lead by six points, before TCU would take the set, 25-16, at the hand of Mountaineer errors.
The Mountaineers came alive in the fourth, setting the tone early with a 5-4 lead. TCU retaliated with a late scoring run, taking the 19-18 lead. West Virginia pushed ahead with five unanswered points, including two kills from Green and a pair of service aces from DeLo, cementing the set. The Gold and Blue would close out the fourth off a TCU error, winning 25-21 to force the fifth.
The fifth set was a battle for victory, with the Mountaineers striking first. A kill by the Horned Frogs would knot the score at 6, setting Green up for a picture-perfect kill and the West Virginia lead. The Mountaineers would go on to lead by as many as four points, 11-7. TCU would trail by only two points, before the Mountaineers would take it all home with a kill from Green, 15-11.
Saturday’s match marks the first win over a conference opponent since Nov. 27, 2021, when West Virginia downed TCU in similar fashion, 3-1.
Up next, the Mountaineers welcome Cincinnati for a pair of matches on Thursday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 20. Both matches are slated with a 6 p.m. ET, start time at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Thursday’s match is Pink Night, fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight once morest breast cancer. Friday’s match is the homecoming and alumni game and features a foam finger giveaway to the first 200 fans.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on TwitterInstagram, Facebook.
1697326605
#West #Virginia #Defeats #TCU #FiveSet #Thriller
