Sept. 5, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team jumped out to a two-game lead on the defending Conference USA champion Cincinnati, then watched as the Bearcats clawed their way back for a 3-2 (11-15, 14-16, 15-12, 15-13, 18-16) win Tuesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The match lasted nearly three hours and saw the two teams combine for 202 kills, 484 total attempts and 182 digs, along with 145 total points.
Western (4-1) set a school and Sun Belt Conference record with 105 kills, and the Lady Toppers' 91 assists equals the school standard and ranks as the second-highest mark in conference history. Cincinnati tallied 97 kills in the match, the most ever by a WKU opponent, and the Bearcats' 88 assists tied the Lady Toppers' opponent record.
Individually, four Western players posted double-doubles, led by junior left-side hitter Tara Thomas (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS), who drilled a career-high 29 kills and added 22 digs to record the first 20-20 match by a Lady Topper since Oct. 13, 1998. Junior outside hitter Natalie Furry (Normal, Ill./Community HS) had a career-high 27 kills, hit .458 for the contest, and chipped in 11 digs to notch her first double-double of the season. Sophomore setter Sara Noe (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) handed out a career-high 85 assists and tallied 11 digs for her first career double-double, and senior left-side hitter Melissa Starck (Louisville, Ky./Assumption HS) posted 17 kills and 14 digs for her first double-double of the season.
"I could not be more proud of my team than if we had won the match," WKU head coach Travis Hudson said. "We did not lose this match -- Cincinnati won it. We showed we can compete like a champion and be in a position to win a conference championship at the end of the season. You never like to lose a match, but we'll be able to take some things out of this match and use them later in the season to help prepare us to contend for a conference title."
Western Kentucky came out strong in the first game and looked in complete command of the contest. The Lady Toppers used a 5-0 run midway through game one to seize the upper hand before they closed out the opening-game win on their first attempt. UC took an early 5-1 lead in the second game, and bumped its edge to four points on two occasions before WKU came storming back. The Lady Toppers fought off a game point at 13-14 and rallied to claim the second game and push the Bearcats to the brink.
Cincinnati (2-2) responded well after the intermission, grabbing an 8-5 lead in the third stanza and holding off a late Western charge to win the game and cut the match deficit in half. The Bearcats looked especially hungry in the fourth game, racing out to a 6-0 lead, but the Lady Toppers made a spirited charge, eventually knotting the game at 11-11. A quick three-point spurt gave UC its first game point, but it took three tries before the Bearcats could find the solution and send the match to a fifth and deciding game.
In the final frame, Cincinnati bolted to a 6-2 lead, but Western began chipping away at the deficit, whittling the lead to two points. After the Bearcats scored five of the next seven points to take an 11-6 lead, the Lady Toppers pieced together another rally, tallying seven of the next eight markers to take a 13-12 lead. UC countered with two points to reach its first match point. WKU mounted one final stand, fighting off four Bearcat match points before Cincinnati sealed the win with a tandem block.
Western Kentucky (4-1) will look to bounce back this weekend when it takes part in the five-team Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, Ind. The Lady Toppers will open tournament play Friday at noon (CDT) against Dartmouth, followed by a 7 p.m. match with Valparaiso. On Saturday, WKU will face Kent State at noon and Ohio at 4 p.m. to close out the two-day competition.
-- WKU --
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