Oct. 13, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Junior left-side hitter Tara Thomas (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS) blasted a match-high 29 kills and added a match-best 18 digs to help lift Western Kentucky to a 3-1 (15-8, 12-15, 15-5, 15-13) Sun Belt Conference win over New Mexico State Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. With the victory, the Lady Toppers move a half-game into first place ahead of Arkansas-Little Rock in the SBC Eastern Division standings.
Thomas also hit a team-high .362 and recorded her 13th double-double of the season, topping the 20-kill mark for the seventh time this season. Junior outside hitter Natalie Furry (Normal, Ill./Normal Community HS) broke out of a recent slump, logging 19 kills and 10 digs for her fifth double dip of the season. Senior left-side hitter Melissa Starck (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS) and sophomore setter Sara Noe (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) also posted double-doubles in the victory -- Starck had 16 kills and 11 digs, while Noe tallied 74 assists and 11 digs.
Angela Lobendahn and Kristin Webster notched 22 kills apiece to lead New Mexico State (8-11, 4-3 Sun Belt), which was making its first-ever appearance at Diddle Arena. The Aggies outblocked WKU, 13-7, and held an 87-84 edge in the digs column, but they were crippled by 21 service errors, the most by a Western opponent this season.
The Lady Toppers had to rally three times to win game one after falling behind by as many as three points. Trailing 7-5, WKU blitzed its guests by scoring 10 of the last 11 points in the period, thanks mainly to Furry who had three kills, two blocks and an ace in the run.
The tables turned in the second game as Western bolted to an 8-2 lead and forced NMSU to burn both of its timeouts. However, the Aggies put together a comeback of their own, banking 13 of the final 17 markers to even the match at one game each.
The turning point of the match came in the third game when New Mexico State fought through 17 consecutive sideouts to score the first five points of the stanza. Following a timeout, the Lady Toppers came out recharged, firing off 15 unanswered tallies to seize the victory and push the Aggies to the brink of defeat.
However, NMSU responded well in game four, wiping out an early 4-1 deficit and grabbing a 9-6 lead. WKU bounced right back with three straight points to even the score at 9-all. The teams then traded the next four points to keep the score knotted (13-13). After New Mexico State used its second timeout of the period, Thomas hammered a kill off an Aggie block and senior middle hitter Andria Humpert (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) completed the victory by killing an NMSU overpass on match point.
Western Kentucky (17-5, 6-1) returns to action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) when it hosts Denver in another Sun Belt contest. The Pioneers earned a five-game victory at Middle Tennessee earlier Friday evening.
-- WKU --
