MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team (2-5) fell to Colgate (3-4) on Friday night in the opening match of the Colgate Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament in Hamilton, New York.
Colgate took the match in five sets with scores of 27-25, 25-20, 25-23, 28-26 and 15-12. West Virginia collected wins in sets two and four.
“We had chances to win the match, but we have to make plays down the stretch and take advantage of our opportunities,” WVU coach Reed Sunahara said.
Junior outside hitter Hailey Green led the Mountaineers with 24 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Bailey Miller collected 17 kills on the night.
Redshirt senior setter Lauren DeLo collected 50 assists, making it her second highest output of her career.
Defensively, fifth year Camilla Covas added 26 digs and sophomore middle blocker Tierney Jackson aided in seven assisted blocks.
Colgate started off early in the first set, with an 8-4 lead before the Mountaineers stormed back to tie it up at 11 apiece. It was a back-and-forth struggle for both teams, before the Raiders ended the set with a service ace.
West Virginia battled back in the second set, 25-20, tying up the match at one set apiece. The Mountaineers hit for .455 after only hitting .027 in the first set.
It was a struggle for power in the third set, with the score never varying for more than three points. Colgate capitalized in the end off a kill, winning the set 25-23.
In the fourth set, West Virginia took the lead early and proceeded to go on a three-point scoring run, leading Colgate 6-2. The Mountaineers rolled over the Raiders after a pair of kills, winning the set 28-26.
The final set was back and forth until the end, with the Raiders closing it out 15-12.
West Virginia dominated Colgate in kills, collecting 66 compared to the Raiders’ 59. Collectively, the Mountaineers combined for 151 attacks, 62 assists and 19 blocks.
The Mountaineers are back in action Friday, Sept. 8 against Cornell at 3 p.m. ET. The match will be held at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, New York. Fans unable to attend can follow along live at WVUsports.com or on ESPN+.
