FORT WORTH, Texas — The West Virginia volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback to Big 12 foe TCU on Thursday in set scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-21.
Senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans had a team-best 13 kills for WVU (10-10, 1-6 Big 12), while sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 33 of the Mountaineers’ 36 assists, adding eight digs in the match. Junior defensive specialist Lindsay Proctor had a team-high 10 digs.
WVU finished the match hitting .165 with 37 kills and eight team blocks.
With the Mountaineers trailing the Horned Frogs (7-11, 2-6 Big 12) 20-18 late in the first, Evans came up with a huge swing to jump start a 3-0 scoring streak for WVU.
Coach Reed Sunahara challenged there was a touch on the next play, as Evans placed another ball through the defenders to tie the match at 20-all. The call was overturned in favor of the Mountaineers, with Evans and Adams teaming up for the block to take a 21-20 lead before TCU called its final timeout of the frame.
However, the Horned Frogs came out of the stoppage with three straight points of their own, reclaiming the lead at 23-21. Evans notched her fifth kill of the frame to keep the Mountaineers’ hopes alive, down 24-23, but a WVU service error handed TCU the 25-23 first-set victory and 1-0 match lead.
The teams traded points early in the second before TCU tallied three in a row for the 18-16 lead. WVU called a timeout to regroup, scoring three of the next four points to tie the set at 19-all. A trio of kills from Evans put the Mountaineers on top at 22-21, but the Horned Frogs went on a 4-0 scoring streak to end the frame in their favor, 25-22, for the 2-0 advantage in the match.
With the third set knotted at 17-all, TCU used a 5-0 scoring streak for the 22-17 advantage and never looked back.
