WVU Mountaineer Sports: Basketball | Football | News |Volleyball: Mountaineers Fall in Five

The West Virginia volleyball team fell on Senior Day in a 3-2 (15-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 11-15) decision to USF in its last BIG EAST regular-season match this afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

            West Virginia (7-18, 5-9) lost the first two sets and battled back to take the next two, but the Mountaineers could not over power the Bulls (11-15, 7-6) in the end.

            "I think this was one of our hardest fought matches all year long," coach Jill Kramer says. "Both teams played really great defense and it really could have gone either way. We got a little bit of a late start and we didn't really come on until the third set, but when we did, I think we really pulled it together and we did some great things. There were some things that we talked about that we really wanted to get better at still after last weekend and we did improve in a lot of areas of our game, especially late in the match."

            The Mountaineers began set one with a strong 5-1 run after multiple USF errors. The Bulls pulled the match even at 9-9 before going on a 9-0 run to take an 18-9 advantage. WVU broke the run with a kill from junior Anke de Jong, but the Mountaineers could not get past the USF block as the Bulls posted seven blocks on its way to taking the first set.

            WVU fell behind early in the second set until a service error by the Bulls at 16-12, gave the Mountaineers a spark as they pulled the match even at 21-21. The teams battled until the end, but it was USF who had the advantage as Kimika Rozier ended the set with her seventh kill of the match.

            Down two sets, the Mountaineers used three straight kills from de Jong and senior outside hitter Michelle Kopecky to start the third set up 3-0. The Bulls pulled the match even, but WVU would never let USF take the lead as the Mountaineers took a 20-14 advantage in the set. WVU proceeded to go on a 5-1 run and ended the set with a block by senior outside hitter Kylie Armbruster and freshman Evyn McCoy.

            The teams traded points the entire fourth set until an attack error by the Bulls and a kill from Kopecky put the Mountaineers up 22-20. USF attempted to close the gap with a block, but WVU used two kills from de Jong to tie the match 2-2 and send it into the decisive fifth set.

            With the score tied 7-7, USF used a service error by WVU and a kill from Valerie El Houssine to take a 9-7 lead in the fifth set. The Mountaineers would pull within one at 12-11 with a kill by de Jong, but it was not enough as the Bulls posted three straight kills to take the fifth set 15-11 and the match.

            Kopecky led the Mountaineers with 18 kills and a .298 hitting percentage while Armbruster and senior setter Kari Post each recorded double-doubles. Armbruster finished with 13 kills and 10 digs while Post finished with 45 assists and 11 digs. Senior libero Serinna Russo led the defense with 29 digs and one service ace.

"I would like to applaud our five seniors," Kramer says. "They have given their heart and soul for four years and have been great representatives of our volleyball program, West Virginia University and the Morgantown community. I know they are going to do great things with their lives and I wish we had some more time with them. A lot of them are just getting started in their volleyball careers. They are really getting to a point where they could do some great things so it is sad to see them go. They are definitely not at their peak yet and I wish we could have gotten them there a little bit quicker. They are going to do great things and we are excited about that."

            WVU returns to action for its final match of the regular-season on Nov. 25, as it travels to Huntington, W. Va., to take on the Thundering Herd of Marshall at 7 p.m.