This marks the second straight season the Lady Toppers have earned votes in the weekly poll. The 2004 squad was able to climb as high as 32nd during its three-week stay in the polls. Western was one of nine teams to appear in the "Others Receiving Votes" section of the poll.
WKU is off to the best start in school history at 18-1, and has won 14 straight matches. In addition, the Lady Toppers have picked up 12 straight 3-0 sweeps during this run and have won 39 straight games — tied for the 13th longest streak in NCAA history. The 14-match winning streak is tied for the second-longest streak in the program’s 25-year history.
Towler led the Lady Toppers to three more wins this week, averaging 3.44 kills per game and hitting .442. On top of her attacking number, Towler also averaged 1.33 assists and 2.20 digs per game, while registering five service aces and six total blocks. With her eight-kill performance against Austin Peay on Tuesday, Towler went over 1,300 kills for her career. The Sussex, Wis., native followed that up with her best match of the season at Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday, finishing with a season-best 18 kills and .739 hitting percentage in a sweep over the Trojans. In addition, she tallied two assists, six digs and three blocks against UALR.
It is the second time in her career that Towler has earned Player-of-the-Week honors, but it is the first since her freshman season in 2002. A Lady Topper has received three of the last four league Player-of-the-Week awards. Senior setter Caron Blotch took the award on Sept. 16, and freshman middle hitter Megan Argabright was honored last week.
The Lady Toppers hit the court again on Wednesday when they travel to regional rival Cincinnati for a 6:30 p.m. (CDT) match. Western will then open up a four-match homestand on Friday when Florida International visits E.A. Diddle Arena at 7 p.m.
