BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - On Breast Cancer Awareness Night, the WKU volleyball team defeated the Troy Trojans (11-14, 6-7 SBC) in three sets (25-15, 25-12, 25-14) to improve to 20-7 this season and 9-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.
In the first set, the Lady Toppers got off to a slow start falling behind 3-0 before scoring their first point of the night after a kill by senior Brittany Bowen. After battling back to tie the set up at four, the Lady Toppers took their first lead of the night off another kill by Bowen. Up 5-4, WKU then went on to outscore the Trojans 20-11 and won the set following a kill by junior Emily Teegarden. In the set, the Lady Toppers recorded 14 kills and finished with a .379 hitting percentage.
The Lady Toppers were even hotter in the second set finishing with a .571 hitting percentage after committing zero errors in 21 attempts and posting 12 kills. In set two, it was the Lady Toppers who scored first scoring their first point off an attack error by Troy. WKU never trailed in the set taking their final lead of the night at 3-2 and never allowing Troy to rally back. Up 17-10, WKU scored the next five points to go ahead 22-10 and then freshman Jordyn Skinner secured the win for the Lady Toppers on the final play posting her first ace of the night.
WKU and Troy battled early in the third set staying close until the Lady Toppers scored ten consecutive points to take a 14-5 lead. From there, the Lady Toppers continued to build on their lead defeating the Trojans after a kill by sophomore Lindsay Williams. The Lady Toppers posted their best hitting percentage of the night in the third set finishing with a .591 percentage after racking up 15 kills and only two errors.
Six Lady Toppers finished the match with a .350 hitting percentage or better and were led by Stuckel who finished with a .750 percentage. Elmore finished the night with a team-high 14 kills, Stuckel led the team in assists with 26 and freshman Sarah Rogers paced the team in digs with eight. In blocks, Elmore led the team with four blocks, all block assists while Skinner led the team in aces with three.
As a team, the Lady Toppers posted 42 kills and an overall hitting percentage of .500. They also recorded 37 assists, seven aced, 27 digs and 14 blocks. Troy finished the night with a .147 hitting percentage after recording 27 kills. The Trojans also posted 24 assists, one ace, 24 digs and four blocks.
WKU will continue conference play tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. when they host South Alabama on Halloween night. Live stats will be available at www.wkusports.com.
