Mountaineers down UCF in 4 sets, earn first Big 12 win in nearly a year

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It took longer than she would have liked, but WVU volleyball first-year head coach Jen Greeny captured her first Big 12 victory Wednesday night inside the WVU Coliseum.

West Virginia (7-11, 1-6 Big 12) downed visiting UCF (8-7, 1-5 Big 12) in four sets.

WVU stormed back in the fourth stanza, erasing an early six-point deficit. West Virginia didn’t take the lead for the first time in the set until the score read 25-24. The Mountaineers ultimately secured the win with a 29-27 score in an elongated fourth period.

The win was also good for Greeny’s first victory in her new home venue. It also avenges a loss to the Knights from two weeks ago in Orlando.

UCF has now lost three matches in a row and six of their last seven.

The Knights took Wednesday’s first set 25-20. UCF scored 14 of the final 19 points of the set to erase what was a four-point deficit.

West Virginia responded to take the second set, in part, thanks to four aces. The Mountaineers held the lead the rest of the way after a kill by Hailey Green gave WVU a 7-6 advantage. Greene had a team-high 19 kills on the night.

Greeny’s club never trailed in the third set. West Virginia went on an 8-2 run to go from leading by one to leading by seven. The Mountaineers then scored nine of the final 13 points in the set, with the last blow coming on a swift kill from the high-rising Cassidy Tanton.

WVU’s top player finished with 17 kills.

UCF jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set. A service error gave WVU its second point in the stanza, and the Mountaineers steadily chipped away at the deficit from there. Three consecutive service aces by Quincey Coyle turned momentum and tied the set at 22 all.

That was part of a run in which West Virginia scored 17 of the final 24 points of the match. A kill from Green followed by an error from UCF ended the match in the extended fourth set.

Wednesday’s victory is WVU’s first in Big 12 play since Oct. 19, 2023. The program suffered 16 consecutive losses in league play between wins.

West Virginia hits the road next week to face Colorado for the first time in program history. That match is set for Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.