MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia volleyball team returns to Morgantown to play host to Kansas State in the 2020 home opener at 7 p.m. Thursday at the WVU Coliseum.
Of note, due to safety precautions from the COVID-19 pandemic, only essential game operations personnel and families of the players and volleyball staff will be admitted into the arena.
“They (Kansas State) are a good team,” said sixth-year WVU coach Reed Sunahara. “They beat Iowa State, who is consistently in the top three or four in our conference and make the NCAA tournament. That is a great win for them. They are good. The way we are preparing is that we have to stop them from doing what they want. We have to execute on our side. We have to control the ball better and make better decisions on our hitting. The good thing is that we are at home. Our kids love playing at home, and hopefully, we can take it one game at a time.”
WVU and K-State first met in 2012, when the Mountaineers joined the Big 12. Kansas State holds a 9-7 lead in the all-time series. However, the Mountaineers have won five of their last six matches against the Wildcats, including a series sweep last season.
West Virginia earned a series split at Texas Tech last week.
Kansas State also rebounded to earn a split in its season-opening weekend against Iowa State last week, dropping a five-set loss Friday before claiming a four-set victory over the Cyclones the following evening.
Thursday’s contest will air live on ESPNU, with Courtney Lyle and Jenny Hazelwood on the call. Friday’s match against the Wildcats will be carried live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, starting at 6 p.m., with Jason White and Alex Wiederspiel on the call. For more information, or to sign up for the digital platform, visit wvusports.com/Big12Now.
Live stats and video links for both matches can be found on wvusports.com.
