BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team extended its Sun Belt Conference winning streak to six games with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-10) sweep of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Toppers (21-6, 10-1), who finished the match with a season-high .457 team hitting percentage, are a perfect 4-0 at home in league play this season.
"I'm pleased with where we are overall," WKU coach Travis Hudson said. "Our kids bounced back really well this weekend after a really competitive, tough match against a top-25 team. These were two matches this weekend that we were supposed to win, and sometimes those are the most difficult ones to come out and play well in. And I thought it showed great maturity in our kids to be able to do that."
WKU junior Tiffany Elmore set a school record with a .812 hitting percentage in 16 attempts, the highest in the program's 30-year history by a player with at least 15 attempts. Elmore tallied a match-high 13 kills and finished the night with seven blocks, three of which were solo.
"Tiff had a really, really big match for us offensively," Hudson said. "It's good to see. Tiff's been a little bit up and down lately - I'm kind of splitting hairs for a kid that's done what she's done - but she had a really big match for us. And I'm telling you, the kid that's just really, really taken her level of play overall up - and it's changing our team - is Jordyn Skinner. She's doing so many things well for us right now, and Jordyn erases so many mistakes because of just her athleticism. And she was another kid that really stood out to me again tonight."
Other offensive leaders included sophomore Jordyn Skinner with eight kills and a .545 hitting percentage. Freshman Melanie Stutsman added seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage, and classmate Lindsay Spears had five kills. Stutsman also tallied four block assists.
"We are a terrific offensive team," Hudson said. "Going into this week, we were, I think, the seventh-ranked team in the country in hitting percentage - which is mind-boggling, to be ranked that high. It takes so many good things to be a good offensive team. You've got to have great passing, you've got to have a setter that can put the ball where it needs to be, and you've got to have great finishers. And we have all three of those things."
Defensively, Skinner paced the team with 10 digs. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native has recorded double-digit digs in seven of the last eight matches for WKU. Sophomore libero Sarah Rogers recorded seven kills and senior Kelly Potts tallied six digs.
The Lady Toppers finished the night with 12 total team blocks, their eighth double-digit match of the season.
Louisiana-Monroe (0-18, 0-9) was limited to a .000 hitting percentage while committing 17 attack errors.
Up 6-4 in the first set, WKU went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-4 lead. The Lady Topper continued adding to the lead, building their largest advantage at 21-10. WKU recorded four straight kills to end the set.
The Lady Toppers jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before ULM rallied to close the gap to 8-5. WKU scored nine of the next 12 points to make the score 17-8. A kill on match point by redshirt freshman Paige Wessel gave WKU the 25-15 win.
After taking a 2-1 lead in the third set, the Lady Toppers never trailed again. Up 6-2, WKU went on a 9-1 run to take a 15-3 lead. WKU scored six of the final seven points to claim the match.
The Lady Toppers return to action next weekend with their final road trip of the regular season, facing Denver on Friday followed by North Texas on Sunday.
WKU-ULM
