West Virginia volleyball could not have picked a much better time to start finding its groove.
The Mountaineers wrapped up nonconference play with a perfect 3-0 weekend at the UNT Invitational, beating East Texas A&M, North Texas and Tarleton State. The weekend pushed WVU to 7-3 on the season and gave the Mountaineers a three-match winning streak heading into Big 12 play.
And considering what is waiting for them next, that momentum could not have come at a better time.
WVU opens conference play Friday
night at Hope Coliseum against No. 12 Arizona State before hosting TCU on Sunday. The competition is about to get tougher, but West Virginia is entering that stretch playing some of its best volleyball of the season.
A Much-Needed Weekend in Texas
The Mountaineers entered the UNT Invitational coming off back to back five set losses to Lehigh and Toledo. Instead of allowing those losses to turn into a bigger skid, WVU responded with three straight wins.
They beat East Texas A&M and North Texas in four sets before saving their best performance of the weekend for Saturday.
Against Tarleton State, West Virginia earned its first straight set victory of the season, winning 25-23, 25-22 & 25-21. The Mountaineers hit .253 while holding Tarleton State to .143 and finished with a 10-3 advantage in blocks.
It was not necessarily a dominant weekend from start to finish, but that’s almost what makes it more encouraging. WVU found ways to win three matches in three days and finished the weekend looking better than when it started.
That is EXACTLY what you want to see right before conference play.
Nina Horning Continues to Lead the Way
If there has been one constant for the Mountaineers offensively, it has been Nina Horning.
The senior outside hitter leads WVU with 154 kills through 10 matches, averaging 3.58 kills per set. She also has a team-high 176.5 points.
Horning finished the Tarleton State match with 10 kills, three aces and four blocks while hitting .308. She was NOT alone, either.
Sophomore Anna Barr also had 10 kills in the sweep and hit .409, while Trinity Sheridan added nine kills on a .438 hitting percentage.
That balance could become important as WVU gets into its Big 12 schedule. Horning has established herself as the Mountaineers’ top offensive option, but West Virginia becomes much more difficult to defend when the production is coming from multiple players.
WVU has also been strong at the net. Maddy McGath leads the team with 50 blocks, while freshman Mirjam Karoliine Kask has 48. Opponents are hitting just .191 against the Mountaineers through the first 10 matches.
Now Comes the Real Test
A 7-3 record is a solid start. Winning three straight matches to close nonconference play makes it even better.
But now we are going to learn a lot more about this team.
West Virginia opens Big 12 play against Arizona State before hosting TCU two days later. After that, the Mountaineers hit the road to face Texas Tech.
The margin for error is about to get smaller.
Still, WVU has given itself something to build on. The Mountaineers responded to consecutive losses with three consecutive wins, they are getting production from more than one attacker, and their play at the net has the potential to keep them in matches when the offense is not perfect.
A strong weekend in Denton doesn’t guarantee anything once Big 12 play begins.
But if West Virginia was looking for momentum before conference play arrived, it found it.
Now we will find out what the Mountaineers can do with it.
