West Virginia is clearly a better team this year, with a 2-2 start in the Big 12. Last year, when we played them, they were 0-15 in the Big 12. We beat them pretty handily in Morgantown 3-0 (25-13, 25-17 and 25-11). I doubt it will be quite so easy this year, as that team has another year of experience under their belt.
This year, they are off to a better start. They gave themselves a pretty easy pre-season schedule and rolled to a 13-1 record; this included wins over schools like Canisius, Campbell, Hampton and Norfolk State. They started the Big 12 with a 3-1 win over KState at home, who we beat 3-0 last Wednesday night. Then they lost by a 3-1 margin to TCU but followed that up with a 3-1 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock (24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19). We beat TT 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-13).
The big hitters for the Mountaineers include 6'0" freshman OH Jordan Anderson, 6'0" sophomore OH Hannah Sackett, 6'0" sophomore MB Caleah Wells and 6'3" OPP Nikki Attea. Attea and Wells were PrepVolleyball senior aces 150 coming out of high school. Their setter is 5'7" sophomore Brittany Sample, also named a senior ace 150 out of high school. Their Libero is also a sophomore, so, this is a young team; many of this year's sophomores were starting freshmen last year and endured that really, really tough season.
The Mountaineers are even young at the coaching level. Jill Kramer has only been at WVU since 2010; she played for TCU's inaugual volleyball team (1996-1999) and has previously served as an assistant at Virginia, Alabama and Texas San Antonio. Her assistant coaches arrived in June 2012 and June 2013. Coming to the Big 12 was a big, big step as their record dropped from 15-15 in their last year in the Big East to 7-19 in their first year in the Big 12. They were no better last year with a 8-22 overall record.
So, the Mountaineers are young, depending largely on freshmen and sophomores. This should be another 3-0 victory for the good girls, unless they play down to the opposition, in which case I could see a 3-1 victory. Something else in our favour is Hilton; WVU is used to Morgantown crowds that number in the 100s, not the 1000s like our girls enjoy here in Ames.
This year, they are off to a better start. They gave themselves a pretty easy pre-season schedule and rolled to a 13-1 record; this included wins over schools like Canisius, Campbell, Hampton and Norfolk State. They started the Big 12 with a 3-1 win over KState at home, who we beat 3-0 last Wednesday night. Then they lost by a 3-1 margin to TCU but followed that up with a 3-1 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock (24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19). We beat TT 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-13).
The big hitters for the Mountaineers include 6'0" freshman OH Jordan Anderson, 6'0" sophomore OH Hannah Sackett, 6'0" sophomore MB Caleah Wells and 6'3" OPP Nikki Attea. Attea and Wells were PrepVolleyball senior aces 150 coming out of high school. Their setter is 5'7" sophomore Brittany Sample, also named a senior ace 150 out of high school. Their Libero is also a sophomore, so, this is a young team; many of this year's sophomores were starting freshmen last year and endured that really, really tough season.
The Mountaineers are even young at the coaching level. Jill Kramer has only been at WVU since 2010; she played for TCU's inaugual volleyball team (1996-1999) and has previously served as an assistant at Virginia, Alabama and Texas San Antonio. Her assistant coaches arrived in June 2012 and June 2013. Coming to the Big 12 was a big, big step as their record dropped from 15-15 in their last year in the Big East to 7-19 in their first year in the Big 12. They were no better last year with a 8-22 overall record.
So, the Mountaineers are young, depending largely on freshmen and sophomores. This should be another 3-0 victory for the good girls, unless they play down to the opposition, in which case I could see a 3-1 victory. Something else in our favour is Hilton; WVU is used to Morgantown crowds that number in the 100s, not the 1000s like our girls enjoy here in Ames.
