West Virginia's Nikki Attea and Jordan Anderson combined for 27 kills as the Mountaineer volleyball team got past Morehead State, 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19), in the Eagle Challenge Tournament Friday (September 13) at MSU’sWetherby Gym.
WVU remains unbeaten in 2013 at 8-0, while the Eagles fell to 4-4.
MSU sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith returned from an injury last weekend to lead her team with 15 kills via a .314 hitting efficiency while also completing a double-double with 10 digs. Senior outside hitter ArynBohannon landed 14 winners and chalked up 10 digs for her fourth double-double this year.
Attea led the visitors with 15 kills on a .357 hitting night. Anderson notched 12 kills and tied for her team's lead with 14 digs. After hitting negative-.054 in the opening set, the Mountaineers smacked 40 kills and hit .255 in the final three frames.
Morehead State senior libero Leslie Schellhaas led all players with 18 digs as the Eagles held a 56-52 advantage in the dig column. WVU held a 48-46 lead in kills, and the Mountaineers recorded 10 blocks. Caleah Wells had a match-high six stops.
The Eagles totaled 12 kills in the opening frame and used a 10-2 run to put away the visitors. WVU crawled to within 11-10 but junior setter Colbey Cameron served during five straight points, including a pair of aces. The Eagles notched eight aces in the match.
WVU raced to a 20-14 lead in the second stanza, but the Eagles responded with a 9-3 flurry to tie it at 23. Kills from Attea and Anderson gave West Virginia the two-point victory.
Sets three and four saw a combined nine ties and three lead changes, but the Eagles committed 13 attack errors, including eight in the final set.
Morehead State takes on Hampton at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (September 14) and finishes the weekend with a 7 p.m. contest versus Campbell.