The Mountaineers fell to last in the Big 12 volleyball standings Thursday, as Texas Tech jumped them with a 3-0 sweep in Lubbock.
Junior outside hitter Hailey Green took a back seat in the loss, taking 21 attacks compared to her average of just over 33 per match. With the loss in usage came a gain in sets for freshman Emma Beretich out of the middle.
Redshirt senior and team captain Lauren DeLo struggled as the setter for the Mountaineers in the match, tallying just nine assists with no blocks or hits from the front row.
Freshman Katie Kolar filled in for DeLo in the third set and finished with six assists, a kill, and two digs. Thursday was Kolar’s first match appearance since Sept. 15.
Texas Tech took care of WVU early and never let the foot off the gas. The Red Raiders finished with a .304 hitting percentage and 11 kills compared to West Virginia’s four kills for a -0.2 percentage for the 25-12 win.
As West Virginia targeted Beretich more in the second set, the team doubled their kills and lowered errors slightly for a .091 attacking percentage. The freshman’s four kills in the set were not enough to combat Texas Tech’s three serving aces and 10 kills, resulting in a 25-15 loss.
The Red Raiders went on two runs of five points or more in the third set and had three more aces in the 25-10 win to end the match. West Virginia had six kills and 10 errors in their 24 attacks while Texas Tech had a match high .421 hitting percentage in the final set.
With the win, Texas jumped WVU in the standings with a 2-11 Big 12 record while the Mountaineers fell to 2-12 in-conference and 9-18 overall.
The Mountaineers have a chance to regain their position in the standings on Friday. The match starts at 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
