The West Virginia Mountaineers volleyball team opened up their first home games of the year on Thursday, beating Merrimack 3-0 and defeating Binghamton 3-1 in dominant home opening matches.
In their first game at the WVU Coliseum, the Mountaineers handled business against Merrimack, only allowing a 13 points at most in any set against the Warriors.
All three sets were blowouts, as WVU won the first set, 25-12.
The second set was dominant as well, as the Mountaineers did not even allow the Warriors to get to double digits. They pummeled Merrimack, 25-8.
The third set was much of the same story. West Virginia finished the job, winning the third set, 25-13.
The victory against Merrimack was a team effort, and there was a different leader in every category.
Freshman middle blocker Melanie McGann led the way for WVU in kills, tallying nine. Freshman outside hitter Bailey Miller had a nice day serving, with five aces.
Freshman outside hitter Quincey Coyle provided three blocks to the Mountaineer cause, setter Kamiah Gibson had 18 assists, and libero Skye Stokes provided nine digs in the Mountaineers’ fourth win of the season.
In the second game of the day, the Mountaineers took on Binghamton University, and got off to a great start, winning the first two sets.
WVU won the first set, 25-20, getting on a roll towards the end of the set.
In the second set, the Mountaineers held off Binghamton at the end, winning a close second set, 25-22.
The third set, however, did not go the Mountaineer’s way. After leading the set early, the Mountaineers lost the third set in the final few points, 25-22.
The fourth set would be the last set of the match, as WVU was dominant in the final set, with some amazing volleys and saves.
Senior outside hitter Adrian Ell was dominant as usual in the second match, leading the way for WVU with 17 kills, alongside Miller. Stokes had a tremendous amount of digs with 21 and Gibson led the way with an astounding 49 assists.
The Mountaineers will take on Delaware State on Friday at 6 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN+. This match will conclude the Mountaineer Invitational.