West Virginia Volleyball (8-3) delivered a night that Hope Coliseum will remember. Facing No. 9 Arizona State (9-3) Friday, the Mountaineers dropped two of the first three sets, stared down match point more than once, and still walked off the floor with a 3-2 victory (25-17, 17-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-12). It goes down at the highest-rank win in program history.
It was the kind of result that changes how a team sees itself; not a fluke, not a moral win, but a five-set grind against a ranked opponent on home court. Read more: Mountaineers rally past No. 9 Arizona State in five at Hope Coliseum for program-defining win.
First set belongs to West Virginia
The opening set belonged to West Virginia from the start. Lauren Duncan’s setting and Trinity Sheridan’s attacking set the tone immediately. Sheridan finished early kills off Duncan’s feeds, Mirjam Karoliine Kask and Macie Smith stuffed Arizona State attacks at the net, and Maddy McGath added a service ace.
Related: Keys to the game: WVU hosts Oklahoma State in Big 12 opener
Arizona State kept it close for a stretch, but WVU’s block-and-error combination stretched the lead. Anna Barr and Kask combined on multiple block assists, Una Vajagic’s attack errors piled up, and the Mountaineers closed 25-17. The building was loud. The script looked simple.
Sun Devils seize the middle sets
It was not. Arizona State answered in the second set with a 4-0 burst out of the gate, two aces from Isabella Costantini, and a wall at the net. West Virginia’s attack stalled. McGath and Smith both committed errors, Sheridan’s early efficiency faded, and the Sun Devils rolled 25-17.
Related: No. 10 WVU Women’s Soccer swept by No. 13 Colorado in Boulder
The third set followed the same pattern. Costantini and Noemie Glover kept finding seams and WVU’s service game leaked points. Nina Horning produced several kills off the bench rotation with Alexis Finnvold setting, but Arizona State closed 25-16 and put the Mountaineers on the brink.
Hope Coliseum finds its voice in set four
That was when the fourth set became the night’s turning point. Neither side could hold a lead for long. Sheridan kept hammering kills, Horning added attack after attack, and Barr contributed at the net and in transition. Arizona State reached match point at 23-24 after Horning’s kill, then again after Vajagic answered. West Virginia refused to fold. Horning tied it, McGath finished a Finnvold set for 26-24, and Hope Coliseum erupted. The match was even. The momentum had flipped.
Sheridan finishes it in the fifth
The fifth set opened exactly the way WVU needed it to. Duncan served an ace. McGath and Horning stuffed Glover. Sheridan punched through a block error. West Virginia jumped ahead 3-0, then 8-4 after Eily Painter’s service run produced Arizona State attack errors and a Kask solo block. The Sun Devils clawed back to 12-14 and forced a Mountaineer timeout with consecutive Clinton kills. One more point and the ranked visitors would have stolen the match. Instead Sheridan, set by Duncan, ended it 15-12. Match, West Virginia.
The box score will show Sheridan as the constant offensive threat across all five sets. Horning’s production off the bench and in the later frames was decisive. Duncan and Finnvold shared the setting load as the match stretched. Kask, Barr, McGath, and Smith took turns at the net when Arizona State tried to overpower the middle. Service errors and attack mistakes cost WVU the middle two sets; composure and timely blocking won the other three.
Up next: No. 11 TCU on Sunday
For a West Virginia team that had just taken down a top-10 opponent in five sets at home, the calendar does not offer much time to savor it. The Mountaineers stay at Hope Coliseum on Sunday to face No. 11 TCU at 1 p.m. Another ranked Big 12 foe, another afternoon that will test whether Friday’s comeback was a peak or a new standard.
The building will be ready. After what happened against Arizona State, so should the home side.
