Morgantown, WV - UMBC freshman outside hitter Mia Bilusic (Zagreb, Croatia) put away 17 kills against one of the nation's top defensive teams in the Retrievers' competitive three-set loss to the Mountaineers.
West Virginia (10-0), which was received votes in this week's AVCA poll, defeated UMBC (4-9), 25-15, 25-16 and 25-21 in an entertaining final set.
Bilusic recorded 17 kills, the most by a Mountaineer opponent through ten matches this season. She only committed five errors and hit a robust .343 for the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A kill by UMBC freshman Kira Givans (Sacremento, Calif.) cut the WVU lead to 9-8, but a 5-0 Mountaineer run gave the hosts control of the first set.
- UMBC never led in the second set, but were within 12-7, but an 8-2 WVU surge put the set away.
- A combined block by sophomore Beste Ayhan (Istanbul, Turkey) and freshman Lauren Cox (Bendigo, Australia) tied the third set at 9-9. Five kills from that point forward by Bilusic kept UMBC within three points for most of the set, but the Retrievers were unable to string consecutive points together since 9-9 and conceded the final set.
STAT CHECK
- Ayhan amassed a match best four blocks and added three kills with no errors.
- Graduate student libero Loren Teter (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and junior setter Andjelija Draskovic (Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia) led the squad with ten digs apiece. Draskovic added 27 assists.
UP NEXT
UMBC completes play in the Mountaineer Classic when they face GW at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
