Blue Hens Start Fast but Fall 3-1 to Open 2019

Friday, August 30

Newark, Del.

7 p.m.

University of Delaware

0-1

West Virginia University

1-0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
West Virginia	25	23	25	25	3
DELAWARE	23	25	23	15	1

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

8/30/2019 9:58:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Bellinger racks up 19 kills, Mason adds 16 and Basaranlar tallies 50 assists

NEWARK, Del. – In the night cap of day one of the 2019 Delaware Classic, the Blue Hens got off to a quick start in sets one and two, but ultimately dropped a 3-1 decision Friday night at the Bob Carpenter Center to Big 12 foe West Virginia to open the season.

"There is a lot to be proud of tonight and some good things we can take away," said third-year head coach Sara Matthews. "I loved how we showed up and competed right off the bat. We have to continue to focus on first ball contact, it opens up our offense significantly when we control that."

A pair of freshmen were in Delaware's starting lineup in outside hitter Lani Mason and setter Ezgi Basaranlar and the duo showed they belonged in the collegiate game.

Each had a double-double in their collegiate debuts, Mason with 16 kills and 16 digs while Basaranlar had 50 assists and 11 digs.

"I thought Ezgi did a great job spreading out the offense and Lani was pretty special as well. We look forward to some big things from her."

It was senior Maria Bellinger leading everyone on the floor with 19 kills to open the season, adding six digs on the night.

After jumping out to a 4-1 start to open the match, the Mountaineers close the set on an 8-3 run to jump out to an early lead and take the first set, 25-23.

The Blue Hens bounced right back, getting off to an even better start as senior Bailey Pearlman had one of her nine kills on the night to make it 7-2 and force a West Virginia timeout.

The Delaware lead reached 15-10, but a Mountaineer run tied it at 16. The team's exchanged blows the rest of the set before the Blue hens got back-to-back kills from Mason and redshirt freshman Adelina Rivera to win it, 25-23, and tie it at a set apiece.

In set three, West Virginia jumped out to the early lead and it grew to 15-10 before a Delaware timeout that sparked a 10-4 run to take the lead a 20-19. The comeback just took too much and once again it was a 25-23 decision in the third. The Power-Five team showed its depth in the fourth, claiming it 25-15 to close out the night.

The Delaware Classic continues Saturday when West Virginia makes the quick turnaround to take on Coppin State at 11 a.m. before Delaware takes on Binghamton at 1:30 p.m. The Blue Hens will play the finale at 7 p.m. against Coppin State and Binghamton takes on the Mountaineers at 4 p.m. to prelude the night cap. All matches will take place in the Bob Carpenter Center and tickets can be found here.

For the latest on the Delaware volleyball program, follow the Blue Hens on Twitter @DelawareVB and Instagram @delawarevolleyball, and like on Facebook at Delaware Volleyball.