MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team was unable to overcome Kansas State, as the Mountaineers suffered a 3-1 loss on Thursday evening, in Manhattan, Kansas, at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats (11-5, 2-3 Big 12) took the match from the Mountaineers (12-4, 2-3 Big 12) in set scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 and 25-18.

"Our inconsistent play hurt us tonight," said coach Reed Sunahara. "We need to manage our game a lot better because 31 attack errors won't cut it. We need to be a lot better tomorrow night."

Three Mountaineers recorded double-doubles in tonight's match. Senior setter Lacey Zerwas led the Mountaineers with her seventh double-double of the season and 27th in her career. Zerwas recorded 42 assists and 14 digs. 
 
Senior outside hitter Adrian Ell recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 digs and 13 kills. Senior outside hitter Natali Petrova recorded 11 kills and 11 digs on the night. Petrova recorded her second of the season and ninth as a Mountaineer.
 
Six Mountaineers tallied double-digit scores, including fifth-year senior libero Alexa Hasting who recorded 16 digs. She was followed by sophomore outside hitter Skye Stokes who recorded 12 digs.
 
To wrap up the Mountaineers double-digit scores was junior middle blocker Emmy Ogogor after she tallied a season-high 11 kills.

WVU finished the match hitting .117 with 50 kills and seven team blocks.

Kansas State opened the first set with a kill, but West Virginia responded by putting three points on the board. After gaining an early 7-2 lead, the Mountaineers struggled to stay on top. A 5-0 scoring run from KSU brought the set to 10-9 with WVU holding the lead. The teams traded points, but Kansas State took the lead 19-18. WVU fought hard, but ultimately, K-State took set one, 25-22.
 
With an early 2-0 lead, Kansas State controlled most of set two. The teams traded points, and West Virginia could not take the lead. A 3-0 WVU scoring run tied the set, 16-16 and the teams traded points. The Mountaineers came back and took the lead after a 4-0 scoring run, 21-19. K-State struck back with a scoring run of its own to take back the lead, 22-21. A 3-0 run from the Mountaineers brought the squad to set point. K-State gained a point, but a kill from fifth-year senior outside hitter Athena Ardila gave West Virginia set two, 25-23.
 
K-State opened set three with a kill and WVU responded with a pair of kills of its own. Kansas State went on a 6-0 scoring run to secure the lead and followed with a few more scoring runs throughout the set. WVU gained momentum nearing the end of the set. The Mountaineers went on a 4-0 scoring run to bring the score to 21-15. The run forced a Kansas State timeout. Following the timeout, the Mountaineers could not catch the Wildcats who took set three, 25-16.
 
A Kansas State 6-1 lead opened the fourth set. WVU went on a 4-1 scoring run to bring the set to 7-5. The teams traded points, but a KSU scoring run gave them the 14-7 lead. West Virginia went on a few scoring runs of its own in the middle of the set to come within two points, 19-17. The squad could not overcome Kansas State and fell in the fourth set, 25-18. Kansas took the match 3-1.

West Virginia returns to the court on Friday for another match against Kansas State. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPNU.
 
Live stats and video for both matches can be found on WVUsports.com.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVU Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.