WVU Volleyball (1-1) suffered its first loss of the season Sunday in a five-set nail-biter to UMBC (2-0). Read more: WVU Volleyball falls short to UMBC in Country Roads Classic closer.
The Mountaineers lost the first two sets (25-23, 25-13) but tied the match after winning the next two sets (25-19, 25-18). It came down to the wire in set five, but UMBC took it 15-13 to claim the match.
Nina Horning led the way in points (18) and kills (15), while Alexis Finnvold led the team in digs (11) and assists (36). They led the Mountaineers in these categories in Friday’s 3-1 victory over UTRGV as well.
Related: Nina Horning leads the Mountaineers to a win in season opener
First set
Set one was underway with Horning, Finnvold, Mirjam Karoliine Kask, Lucie Smardova, Trinity Sheridan, and Macie Smith as the starting six for WVU.
WVU took the first lead of the contest 2-0 with a kill from Smith and a service ace from Finnvold.
UMBC would bring set one to its first tie early, 3-3. WVU would then go on a three-point scoring run to regain the lead, which it then held for a majority of the first set.
There was a lot of back-and-forth scoring in the middle of the set, but the Retrievers would go on its first three-point scoring run late in the set to put pressure on the Mountaineers’ lead at 20-19.
WVU would regain control and lead 23-21, but UMBC would go on a four-point scoring run and gain its first lead and the set victory.
UMBC outside hitter Claudia Llamas had the last two kills for UMBC in its victory run.
Second set
UMBC did not let its set one momentum die at the beginning of set two as it would get nine straight points over WVU.
Combined with its points at the end of set one, the Retrievers had the highest scoring run of the match with 13 points.
WVU would struggle to apply any pressure in this set as UMBC would go on multiple runs protecting its lead.
To close set two, UMBC hitter Hannah Dobbs would score on a service ace and give the Retrievers a 2-0 lead.
Third set
Set three started off with UMBC getting the first point, but it would go back and forth from there.
The Mountaineers would achieve its first lead of the set, gaining a 6-4 lead over the Retrievers after a three-point run.
UMBC would respond swiftly with a six-point run followed by a five-point run that put the Retrievers on top 15-7.
The Mountaineers did not give up despite the large deficit and put together multiple runs of its own to claw back to a 19-17 lead.
To close the third set, UMBC would have multiple costly errors that led WVU to its first set victory, 25-19.
Fourth set
UMBC once again dominated early to begin set four with a 4-1 lead. It did not take long, though, for WVU to take its first lead of the set, 8-6.
With a five-point scoring run soon after, WVU established a comfortable 15-9 lead following multiple errors from UMBC again.
The Retrievers were able to apply some pressure late, cutting its deficit to three at one point, but the Mountaineers would keep control and win the set 25-18 and force a fifth set.
A pair of block assists from Maddy McGath and Finnvold gave WVU the last two points of the set.
Fifth set
Both teams gave a hard-fought effort in the fifth set, with neither team going on an outstanding run immediately.
After the set was tied 5-5, WVU went on a three-point run with UMBC responding with a four-point run and taking a 9-7 lead.
The match would go on to be tied 13-13, but UMBC would capitalize on a Horning attack error and seal the victory with a service ace from Retriever outside hitter Dasia Johnson.
The loss was WVU’s first against a non-conference team since September 13, 2024, when it lost to East Tennessee State. It had won 16 straight non-conference contests.
It was also WVU’s second loss to UMBC in program history. The two teams have now met a total of 11 times.
WVU will hit the road for its next tournament Friday, the Sunshine State Classic. It will face FAU (3-0) September 4 at 1 p.m. before facing host FGCU (1-2) September 5 at 2 p.m.
Stay up to date with WV Sports Nation for more WVU Athletics coverage by downloading the WV Sports Nation app.
