WKU (14-7, 3-1 SBC East) had its best performance in the opening game as it recorded a match-high 20 kills en route to a 30-22 victory. After finding themselves in an early hole, the Lady Toppers used a run of four unanswered points to open up a 10-5 lead on a Whitney McCory kill. That run would prove to be the difference in the game as WKU led the rest of the way, pushing the lead into double figures when a Kelly Hofmeyer service ace made it 25-15. The Lady Toppers never looked back from that point as they held on and got a another ace from Lindsey Gould to close out an eight-point win in the opener.
Unfortunately for WKU, Denver would regroup from a .086 hitting percentage in the opener to connect on 17 kills and a .406 hitting percentage in game to as it evened the match with a 30-22 victory of its own. The Pioneers carried that momentum into game three as they scored the first six points, and nine of the first 11. WKU was never able to completely recover from the deficit, but were able to battle back late to tie the game at 28-28 after a block from McCory and Megan Argabright. However, after a timeout DU got kills from Holly Benson and Clare Maxwell to take the advantage in the match with a 30-28 game-three win.
It was the Lady Toppers who came out the aggressors in game four, opening up an early 12-5 lead. But just as WKU had done in game three, the Pioneers were able to chip away at the WKU advantage, pulling even at 22-22 after a WKU attack error. The Lady Toppers regrouped to regain the lead, and reached game point when a block by Brittany Bowen pushed the lead to 29-26. However, kills by Lisa Hunter and Benson, and another Lady Topper attack error tied things up at 29-29 and forced WKU into a timeout. Following the break, WKU committed two more attack errors — the last coming thanks to a block by Denver’s Alyta Baris and Kerry Porter — to give the Pioneers the come-from-behind win as a 3-1 victory in the match.
Argabright led the Lady Toppers with a match-high 25 kills, while Jenna Gideon and McCory added 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Hofmeyer finished with a team-best 19 digs. Kim Muller led Denver with 19 kills, while Baris posted 26 digs in the four games.
The Lady Toppers will return to action next weekend with they hit the road again to face Arkansas State (Friday, Oct. 6) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Oct. 7).
