The Lady Toppers never found themselves playing from behind in the first two games, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the opener. Three straight SEMO points made it an 8-5 match, but Western responded with a 9-3 run to open up a 17-8 lead on one of SEMO's seven attack errors in the game. WKU pushed the lead to double figures for the first time on a service error, and allowed the Otahkians to get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as back-to-back Jenna Gideon kills ended game one with a 30-17 Lady Topper win.
Game two started the same way as Western jumped out to an early 10-4 lead. Western continued to apply the pressure, pushing the advantage to 19-9 on a Lyndsey Broerman kill. With the outcome never in doubt, the Lady Toppers rattled off five straight to grab a 27-11 lead, then played point-for-point to take game two 30-16.
Game three saw six early ties before Western finally grabbed an 8-7 lead on a Southeast attack error. A block by Amanda Schiff and Caron Blotch then sparked a 9-2 Western run that ended when a Blotch kill gave the Lady Toppers a 16-10 lead. SEMO battled back within four points when a Jessica Wilfong kill made it 19-16, but WKU scored three of the next four on kills from Schiff, Alli Christian and Jessie Wagner to open up a 22-17 advantage. After the Otahkians pulled within four, Gideon notched two more kills to give the Lady Toppers a 26-20 lead. SEMO could get no closer as Schiff picked up her tenth kill of the match to wrap things up with a 30-23 game-three victory.
As a team, the Lady Toppers hit .318 for the match and hit over .300 in the final two games. Wagner led the way with a season-best .444 hitting percentage and nine kills. Towler recorded her second double-double of the weekend, finishing with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Schiff and Broerman also tallied 10 kills. Ashly Miller finished with a match-high 14 digs for the Lady Toppers.
WKU will look to remain unbeaten and win their second tournament in as many weeks as they face off against South Florida in the tournament finale later today at 5 p.m. (CDT).
