2018 WKU Volleyball Media Day

Hudson & Players Video | 2018 Schedule (PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Just two days out from the 2018 season-opener at the Hampton Inn Charleston/West Ashley CofC Classic, WKU Volleyball head coach Travis Hudson and seniors Rachel Anderson and Mary Martin met with the media to preview the upcoming campaign.

"We're excited to get started," Hudson opened. "We have no idea what we are just yet. This is a very different year for WKU volleyball. We're young, we're inexperienced, and we're trying to figure out who we are in a lot of ways. We're excited to go play to start answering some questions. I really, really like this team a lot. It is a great group of kids to be in the gym with every day, it's a talented group of kids."

On August 9, the Lady Toppers were announced as the Conference USA preseason favorites in the annual preseason coaches poll. Anderson was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year – marking the third-straight Lady Topper to earn the honor (Lucas 2016, Cavanaugh 2017).

With only five upperclassmen - four that have been on The Hill their whole careers - Hudson and staff will see significant contributions from the freshman and sophomore classes. Conveniently, both classes earned national recognition prior to their arrivals on campus, collecting PrepVolleyball.com's Highest Honorable Mention ranking. With an exceptionally talented roster from top to bottom, the WKU coaching staff has also put together one of the more versatile teams the program has ever seen with players capable of making an impact from multiple spots on the court.

As the young WKU Volleyball unit gains valuable experience, Coach Hudson anticipates the team will soon be difficult to stop.

"If I played us, I'd want to play us right now," Hudson continued. "I certainly wouldn't want to play us come mid to late October because we've got all the ingredients. We're talented, we've got great kids and they work hard. I'm really strong in my conviction of what we'll be, I just don't know when it will be. It literally could be as soon as this weekend or it could be three weeks down the road, but there will come a time where you won't want to come to Diddle."

Across the past seven seasons, WKU's offense has ranked as one of the nation's top 12 each year. While the team will still bring the eye-popping fire power in 2018, Hilltopper Nation can expect to see an equally impressive defense as well - similar to the squads of the early days of WKU Volleyball.

This weekend, the Red and White will open play in Charleston, S.C. in a College of Charleston-hosted event. Out of the gate, WKU will face off against Alabama (2:30 p.m. CT) on Friday before turning around and playing both College of Charleston (11 a.m.) and Missouri State (2:30 p.m.) on Saturday.

WKU Volleyball returns to The Hill on Tuesday, Aug. 28 for its home-opener against Belmont. First serve from Diddle Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT as the Lady Toppers look to defend the second-longest active home winning streak in the nation at 23 matches.

With the 2018 campaign just around the corner, volleyball season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by calling the WKU ticket office at 1-800-5-BIGRED. Season ticket holders will receive 15 general admission tickets with the Flexible Ticket Package that can be used to attend the home games of his or her choice. This plan allows the flexibility to choose which volleyball games the buyer wants to attend and the number of tickets used for each game. Season ticket holders also gain exclusive access to pre-game chalk talks with Hudson, who enters his 24th season at the helm of WKU volleyball.

How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU.

Players Mentioned

Rachel Anderson

Mary Martin

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