BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - On Tuesday night, the Lady Toppers fought until the very end against the Blue Raiders but could not stage a comeback falling to Middle Tennessee 3-1 (23-25, 24-26, 25-20, 24-26). With the loss, the Lady Toppers fell to 16-7 this season and 5-3 in the SBC while Middle Tennessee improved to 12-7 overall and 5-1 in the Sun Belt.
In set one, the Lady Toppers struggled offensively finishing the set with a .094 hitting percentage after committing eight errors and picking up 11 kills. Following a WKU attack error, Middle Tennessee scored the first point of the set before allowing the Lady Toppers to go ahead for the first time at 2-1 after a kill by sophomore Lindsay Williams. After a fierce battle that resulted in 12 lead changes, Middle Tennessee scored the go ahead point for the final time with the score tied at 21. Up 24-23, the Blue Raiders sealed the victory after a kill by Stacy Oladinni.
In the second set, the Lady Toppers couldn't hold on to the momentum after a 23-21 lead late in the set. Up 23-21, the Blue Raiders cut the Lady Toppers' lead to one after a setting error by WKU. Then, the Blue Raiders tied the set at 23 after another error by the Lady Toppers. Following WKU's eighth error of the set, Middle Tennessee took the lead for the final time before winning the set off two aces by Ashley Mead.
The Lady Toppers relied on a rally late in the third set to pick up their first set win of the night. After trailing most of the match, the Lady Toppers tied the match up at 20 after a kill by sophomore Lauren Stuckel and blew past the Blue Raiders the rest of the way. Tied at 20, WKU scored the last five points of the match and own the set after an attack error by Middle Tennessee. The Lady Toppers posted their hightest hitting percentage in the third set finishing with a .192 hitting percentage after racking up ten kills and committing five errors.
Finally in set four, the Lady Toppers got off to a hot start scoring the first three points after a kill by Stuckel and two Blue Raider errors. But, after controlling the set early, the Lady Toppers could not hold on to the lead and the Blue Raiders finally took their first lead of the night at 10-9 after an attack error by WKU. Then, Middle Tennessee continued to extend their lead going ahead by as many as six points late in the set. But, WKU wouldn't go down without a fight and rallied back to tie the set at 23 after a kill by freshman Jordyn Skinner. However, the Blue Raiders managed to pull out the match win after a kill by Izabela Kozon.
The Lady Toppers were led by Williams who finished the night with nine kills and just one error for a .444 hitting percentage. Stuckel led the way in assists with 32 and freshman Sarah Rogers finished the match with a team-high 15 kills. Williams also led the team in blocks with four.
As a team, the Lady Toppers recorded 46 kills and finished with a .145 hitting percentage after posting 28 errors. The Lady Toppers also tallied 42 assists, eight aces, 33 digs and 15 blocks. Middle Tennessee finished the night with 53 kills and a .289 hitting percentage, 51 assists, ten aces, 40 digs and nine blocks.
WKU will hit the road to continue conference play this week with contests at ULM, Louisiana-Lafayette and New Orleans. On Thursday night, the Lady Toppers will face ULM in Monroe, La. at 7 p.m. Then, on Saturday at 3 p.m. WKU will face East Division leader, New Orleans, at 5 p.m. The Lady Toppers will conclude the road trip with a meeting against Louisiana-Lafayette at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
