The Lady Toppers (19-5, 8-1 Sun Belt Conference) had four players with at least 12 kills and finished with a season-high 72 kills as a team. WKU has won 11 of its last 12 matches, including four-straight conference games.
"I was really pleased all night with the level of effort," WKU coach Travis Hudson. "It was a hard fought match. After FIU beat Middle Tennessee last night, FIU was right back in the thick of the conference race and so we knew that we were going to get their best effort tonight and they certainly come out and played well."
"Obviously I didn't want to end up in a fifth set, but I was kinda glad we were in that situation because we hadn't been in a very long time and I really thought the team needed to be in a tight game like that and prove that they can make plays and win a tight one because as tournament time approaches, you know that is going to happen again."
FIU, who handed MTSU its first conference loss of the season, lost despite collecting 63 kills and a .230 team hitting percentage. WKU's sweep of the season series is the first for the Lady Toppers since achieving the feat in 2004.
WKU junior Tiffany Elmore led the Lady Topper offense with a season-high 18 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jordyn Skinner also recorded a season-high with 15 kills and added a team-high 17 digs for her second double-double of the season. Junior Lindsay Williams added 14 kills and a .444 hitting percentage while senior Emily Teegarden finished with 12 kills.
"Jordyn was really good early in the match and then she kinda went to sleep on us in the middle of the match," Hudson said. "Actually going into game five, I challenged her specifically in our huddle and she responded in a big, big way and made a lot of plays for us in game five."
Other defensive leaders included senior Kelly Potts who tallied 14 digs. Freshman Ashley Potts and sophomore libero Sarah Rogers each posted 11 digs. Williams led the way in blocks with five total, followed by Teegarden with four and Elmore with three.
Freshman setter Melanie Stutsman finished the night with nine kills, a .421 hitting percentage, 14 digs and 54 assists to record her fourth double-double of the season.
Down 10-9 in the first set, WKU scored six of the next seven points to lead 15-11 and never trailed the rest of the game. The second set was a battled between both teams with 10 ties and six lead changes. With the set tied at 20-20, FIU tallied five of the final eight points to tie the match at 1-1.
WKU took a 2-1 lead in the third set and led the remainder of the game. The fourth set was tied three times late, including at 25-25 when back-to-back attack errors by the Lady Toppers gave FIU the game.
WKU jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth set before the Panthers went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 7-7. The teams traded points, tying the score five more times. At 12-12, kills by Skinner, Elmore and Teegarden propelled the Lady Toppers to the win.
WKU plays its final non-conference match of the season when they host No. 21 Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Tuesday at E. A. Diddle Arena.
"We are excited to get this win," Hudson said. "This was a huge, huge win in terms of the conference race and now we control our own destiny moving forward and that is all you can ask for late in the season. We are excited to get home with six of our last eight in Diddle Arena and finish the season off."
Rankings are based on the American Volleyball Coaches Association collegiate volleyball rankings released Monday.
WKU-FIU
