Aug. 27, 2000
The Western Kentucky University volleyball team competed in its final tune-up match before the start of the regular season, downing a team of WKU alumni, 3-0 (15-6, 15-6, 15-13), Sunday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers hit .369 for the match and hit better than .400 in each of the first two games.
Junior outside hitter Tara Thomas (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS) blasted 18 kills and hit .433 for the match to spearhead the WKU offensive attack. Junior outside hitter Natalie Furry (Normal, Ill./Normal Community HS) and junior middle hitter Jessica Willard (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS) each tallied 14 kills, with Furry hitting a sparkling .630 in the three-game match. Freshman outside hitter Lyndsey Broerman (Evansville, Ind./Reitz HS) notched 12 kills and sophomore setter Sara Noe (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) dished out 57 assists and tossed in four kills for the Lady Toppers.
Western swimming standout Gord Veldman had 15 kills and eight digs and 1998 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Kim Carpenter added 14 kills and five blocks to lead the alumni squad.
"This was a good measuring stick for us to see where we stand heading into the regular season," sixth-year head coach Travis Hudson said. "This match showed us some things we need to work on, but overall, I was pleased with our performance. It's better for us to make our mistakes now, when we can fix them, rather than have them happen next weekend when we're playing these matches for real."
Western Kentucky will open the 2000 season, it's 20th on the Hill, Saturday (Sept. 2) at 9 a.m. (CDT) against Tennessee State at the IUPUI Invitational in Indianapolis. Mercer, Ohio and IUPUI are also participating in the two-day tournament. The Lady Toppers will kick off their home schedule Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. at Diddle Arena against defending Conference USA tri-champion Cincinnati.
--WKU--
