Tournament: Mountaineer Invitational
Score: West Virginia 3, VCU 1 (25-12, 27-25, 25-18, 25-23)
Location: Morgantown, W.Va. (Hope Coliseum)
Records: VCU 1-4, West Virginia 4-1
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The short story: Junior middle blocker
Letizia Galli bolstered VCU with 10 kills, but it wasn't enough for the Rams to overcome a fourth-set push by West Virginia Thursday night at Hope Coliseum.
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OPENING VOLLEY
- Galli hit .333 on the night on 21 attempts for the Black and Gold. She also added five more blocks to her team-leading total
- Senior middle Nina Boledovicova also supplied six kills and five blocks for VCU
- Rams' sophomore outside hitter Lannah Price kicked in 10 kills, while freshman outside Molly McCall provided seven
- Junior setter Cansin Sendir lent 35 assists, eight digs, three kills and two blocks to the VCU cause
- Trinity Sheridan led all players with 14 kills for West VirginiaÂ
THE DIFFERENCE
- VCU appeared to be on the verge of forcing a fifth-set tiebreaker, storming to an 18-11 lead behind four kills from Galli. But the Mountaineers wouldn't quit, staging a 14-5 blitz down the stretch to steal a 25-23, match-clinching victory
- West Virginia hit .314 in the match, including better than .300 in three of four sets Thursday
- The Mountaineers catapulted to a 1-0 lead in the match when they held VCU to a -.083 hitting percentage in the first on the way to a 25-12 triumph. The Rams regrouped for a 27-25 victory in the second following back-to-back kills by Galli and McCall on the final two rallies of the stanza
- VCU outblocked WVU 10-7, but the Mountaineers owned a 58-42 advantage in digsÂ
NEXT UP
The Rams will wrap up play in Morgantown on Friday, Sept. 11 when they take on Toledo at 1:30 p.m. at Hope Coliseum.
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