Bowling Green, Ky. - The WKU volleyball team travels to Belmont tonight to take on the Bruins for a single match at 6:30 p.m. CT. After completing the opening weekend of the season with a 1-2 overall record, the Lady Toppers will battle Belmont tonight before heading to Indianapolis, Ind. for a two-day tournament at IUPUI.
Noting the Lady Toppers
• The Lady Toppers opened up the 2009 season by competing in the Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. On Saturday, the Lady Toppers fell to Lipscomb in the opening game of the 2009 season 3-0 before falling to Tennessee 3-2. However, on Sunday, the Lady Toppers picked up their first win defeating Tennessee Tech 3-0. During the weekend, WKU collected 142 kills, 132 assists, 14 aces, 150 digs and 24.5 total blocks. Against Lipscomb, the Lady Toppers recorded 39 kills but also recorded 12 errors in 100 attempts to finish the match with a .270 hitting percentage. In the second match of the season against Tennessee, the Lady Toppers fought until the very end falling in the fifth set after posting 59 kills but finishing with just a .194 hitting percentage after committing 27 attack errors. However, against Tennessee Tech, the Lady Toppers posted a .308 hitting percentage after 44 kills, 40 assists, six aces, 28 digs and 9.5 team blocks.
• During her first weekend as a Lady Topper, freshman Sarah Rogers was named to the Tennessee Tournament All-Tournament Team after finishing the weekend with a team-high 47 digs (4.27 per set) while also helping the Lady Toppers in aces and assists. Against Lipscomb, she finished with a match high 21 digs, eight more digs than the leader for Lipscomb. She followed up that performance against Tennessee by adding another 21 digs to her season total and finished against Tennessee Tech racking up five more in the three set match. Rogers became first Lady Topper to post two matches with 20 or more digs during the season since former Lady Topper Kelly Hofmeyer did it in 2006 against Appalachian State and Arkansas State.
• During the weekend, the Lady Toppers had three athletes finish with a .300 hitting percentage or better. Sophomore Lauren Stuckel finished the weekend with a team-high .395 hitting percentage after recording 23 kills, 96 assists (8.73 per set), four aces, 17 digs and three blocks. Senior Brittany Bowen also had a great weekend finishing the tournament with 27 kills (2.45 per set), a .358 hitting percentage and a team-high 12 total blocks. Sophomore Tiffany Elmore led the team in kills with 29 (2.64 per set), a .351 hitting percentage and posting nine blocks.
• Last season, head coach Travis Hudson picked up his 300th career victory when the Lady Toppers defeated Iowa 3-1 on Aug. 30, 2008. Hudson, who has a career record of 325-156 (.676), is currently ranked second in the country and first in Division I in the category of coaches under 40 with at least 300 wins. In addition, he is also ranked fourth in the category of Division I coaches under the age of 40 with at least 200 wins and 22nd in the the nation.
• The Lady Toppers are 10-0 all-time against Belmont. The last meeting between the two schools was on Sep. 19, 2007 when the lady Toppers defeated the Bruins 3-0 in Bowling Green, Ky. In fact, only one match between the two schools has gone to four sets, the first contest on Oct. 1, 1997 when WKU beat Belmont 3-1 in Nashville. The last nine meetings have gone to WKU in only three sets. The two teams have also played every year except 2001 and 2008 and played twice in 1999.
• WKU will welcome back four seniors this season. The senior class of Brittany Bowen, Lindsey Gould, Aquila Orr and Abbie Siljendahl will lead a team that finished the 2008 season with a 26-10 overall record and a 12-5 record in the Sun Belt Conference. Also returning in 2009 are juniors Kelly Potts and Emily Teegarden and sophomores Tiffany Elmore, Lauren Stuckel and Lindsay Williams.
• In addition to the nine returning Lady Toppers, WKU will welcome four newcomers to the 2009 team. Freshmen Kacy Moran, Sarah Rogers, Jordyn Skinner and Paige Wessel will begin their careers at WKU in the Tennessee Tournament.
• WKU was picked to finish third in the East by the league’s head coaches. The Lady Toppers picked up 56 points in the poll and finished behind Middle Tennessee, who racked up 67 points, and Florida International, who collected 72 points. In the West division, New Orleans was selected as the favorite and finished the poll with 87 points. WKU defeated Middle Tennessee in the second round of the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advanced to face New Orleans in the championship match. In the match, the Lady Topper swept the Privateers to claim the school’s third Sun Belt Conference Tournament title.
• Senior Aquila Orr was selected by the league’s head coaches as a member of the 2009 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. Orr, who missed much of the 2008 season due to injury, still made an impact on the Lady Toppers when they needed her the most. A 2007 All-Tournament team member, she returned from her injury and finished the season with a .264 hitting percentage from the left side. In only 107 sets, she finished fourth on the team with 261 kills and committed just 88 errors. She also posted double-digit kills in 14 matches during the season and recorded a season-high 20 kills against conference foe New Orleans. Before her injury in 2007, she finished with a team high .378 hitting percentage, the second best in the conference and the 22nd best in the nation. In 2007, she finished with double-digit kills 18 times including posting 22 kills against UMBC.
• The Lady Toppers will continue the 2009 season when they travel to Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday for a meeting with Belmont that will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. This weekend, they will take part in the IUPUI Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. First up for the Lady Toppers is IUPUI on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. During the tournament, WKU will also face Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Northwestern on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
