Western improved to 7-0 on the year, going 3-0 in the tournament, while the Bulls dropped to 2-3, and finished 1-2 during their stay in Bowling Green. Western's Crystal Towler earned tournament MVP honors in the event.
After trading points to start game one, a Towler kill sparked an 8-0 Western run as it opened up a 10-3 lead. A kill from Amanda Schiff pushed the lead up to 14-4 to put the game out of reach. USF was able to get as close as nine points (19-10), but Western pushed the lead all the way out to 14 points (27-13) on an Amanda Cecil block. Up 28-15, Caron Blotch and Lyndsey Broerman posted back-to-back kills to end game on with a 30-15 WKU victory.
Game two was tied five times early on, but another Blotch kills sparked 6-2 Lady Topper run as a Jessie Wagner kill stretched the lead to 12-7. Again, Western was able to pull out to a double-figure lead at 19-9, and did not allow the Bulls any closer than eight. Western led 29-19, but USF got two straight kills before Jenna Gideon put down her first kill of the match to give the Lady Toppers a 2-0 lead with a 30-21 win.
The Bulls came out recharged in game three, grabbing an early 7-3 lead before Western battled back to tied the game at 12-12. Three straight USF attack errors gave Western its first lead at 14-12. Despite four ties, Western never trailed the rest of the way, stretching the lead to 27-21 on a Broerman kill. WKU continued to hold off the Bulls run, and Cecil ended the match with her sixth kill of the night to give Western the tournament championship.
“This weekend pleases me a lot,” said Lady Topper head coach Travis Hudson. “I'm more pleased about today because it was about coming back focused. We showed a level of maturity today that I know it takes to be a championship team.”
Schiff led the Lady Toppers with 13 kills, while Broerman hit a match-high .588 with 10 kills. Schiff also posted a .579 attack percentage. Cecil, who joined Towler on the all-tournament team, finished the night with a match-high 13 digs.
Western will attempt to equal the best start in school history Tuesday night, when it puts its perfect record on the line at Tennessee State Tuesday (Sept. 14) at 7 p.m. (CDT).
2004 all-tournament team Jamie Baumstark, SEMO
Flavia Silveira, USF
Emily Kabbes, Illinois State
Kari Staehlin, Illinois State
Amanda Cecil, Western Kentucky
MVP — Crystal Towler, Western Kentucky
