BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The WKU volleyball team pulled out a heated win against Xavier on Monday night defeating the Musketeers in five sets (25-16, 19-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-10). With the win, the Lady Toppers improved to 11-5 this season.
In set one, the Lady Toppers hit .419 after recording 15 kills and just two errors in 31 attempts. WKU started off on a roll in the set scoring the first nine points before Xavier was finally able to get on the board after an error by WKU. Up 9-1, the Lady Toppers continued to extend their lead going up by as many as ten points during the set. Up 24-14, WKU took the first set of the match after a kill by sophomore Lauren Stuckel.
After picking up all of the momentum in set one, the Lady Toppers began set two scoring the first two points after kills by senior Brittany Bowen and junior Emily Teegarden. But, Xavier rallied back tying the match up at seven following a setting error by WKU. After taking the lead off a kill, the Musketeers outscored the Lady Toppers 18-13 down the stretch and tied the match up at one after an attack error by the Lady Toppers. In the set, WKU picked up nine kills but committed five costly errors for a .160 hitting percentage.
Things didn't get much better for the Lady Toppers in set three as the team posted another eight errors and finished with a .161 hitting percentage. After WKU scored the first point of the night, Xavier tied the match up at one and blew past the Lady Toppers extending their lead to seven early in the set. Trailing 10-3, WKU could never catch up with the Musketeers and fell behind 2-1 in the match.
In the fourth set, the Lady Toppers found themselves in a hole once again but this time were the Lady Toppers were able to rally back and tie the set up at 21. Tied at 21, WKU and Xavier battled it out the rest of the way but the Lady Toppers secured the win and forced set five after a kill by Stuckel. In the set, WKU hit .370 and picked up another 15 kills.
Finally in set five, WKU fell behind 2-0 before they were able to score their first point off an error by Xavier. After tying the match up at three, WKU regained the lead and won the set after a kill by Teegarden. The Lady Toppers were nearly perfect in the set committing just two errors in 12 attempts.
In the match, WKU collected 59 kills and finished with a .294 hitting percentage. The Lady Toppers were led by Teegarden who finished the night with 18 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Stuckel led the team in assists with 424 and freshman Sarah Rogers led the team in digs with 11. Freshman Jordyn Skinner paced the Lady Toppers in blocks with five.
WKU will continue Sun Belt play this weekend when they travel to Florida for a meeting with Florida International on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. CDT and Florida Atlantic on Saturday at 12 p.m.
