WVU’s volleyball team improved their record to an even 6-6 Friday night after a 3-1 win over the Robert Morris Colonials in the closing match of the Mountaineer Invitational at home.
The opening set of the match saw the Mountaineers and the Colonials go back and forth to gain the two point advantage to end the set. West Virginia showed an advantage over RMU at the net through great blocking from the entire front row, but the Colonials covered their hitters well to keep rallies going. This became a trend for the match, as Robert Morris averaged 9.75 more attacks per set than West Virginia.
Many completely unforced errors occurred as well, with Robert Morris making three crucial service errors in the first set after exceeding 25 points. Each of these errors would have given the Colonials a set on the Mountaineers, but play continued instead, with the set finally ending 34-32 in favor of West Virginia. Hailey Green’s fifth kill of the set ended the back and forth sequence.
The second set saw a similar story begin, with the teams staying within two points of each other almost the entire way, with neither team gaining a real advantage. Hillarie Adams, a 5’10” sophomore right side, shot seven kills in the set to keep the Colonials’ energy high after the long first game. Her leadership, along with a bit of disorganization from the Mountaineers, allowed RMU to eventually pull ahead and tie the match 1-1 after a 25-21 victory.
Where the second set saw Robert Morris altering their strategy to hit with more power, the third set saw changes for WVU, primarily in the players on the court. Freshman Emma Beretich from Pickerington, Ohio was subbed in for Tierney Jackson at middle blocker, receiving significant playing time for the first time this month. Freshman Emma Winter also moved into the lineup in the third set, replacing Melanie McGann at the right side.
The changes made an impact for the Mountaineers, as they immediately pressure on the Colonials, forcing a timeout with an 18-8 lead. The fresh legs of Beretich and Winter brought strong blocking to match the Colonials’ continued offensive power. WVU tightened their back row defense, as well, led by sophomore DS Samiha Foster and fifth year libero Camilla Covas, and played a lot better out-of-system than they had in the second set to pressure Robert Morris.
The Mountaineers carried their momentum forward to win the third set 25-13. In the fourth set, Robert Morris could no longer handle West Virginia at the net, with the Mountaineers fully regaining the blocking prowess they had early in the match. With strong swings coming back from Bailey Miller, Hailey Green, and freshman MB Maddy McGath, though, RMU could not keep up defensively and lost the fourth set just like the third, 25-13.
McGath shined throughout the match, breaking her career high in kills as a Mountaineer, leading the team with 17 in the match on 24 attacks. Bailey Miller continued her high level production for West Virginia as well, getting set for 46 attacks while tallying 15 kills and 13 digs.
The Mountaineers begin conference play next week as they take on Iowa State at home in matches on Thursday and Friday. Both matches begin at 6 p.m. in the WVU Coliseum.
