BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team will look to capture the eighth Sun Belt Conference East Division Championship in program history on Friday when it takes on rival Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. at E. A. Diddle Arena.
"It is a great matchup between two really, really good teams," WKU coach Travis Hudson said. "And we wanted to make this match matter and with the way that our kids have played since the last time we met, we are in a position to do just that."
Friday's match will determine not only the East Division champion, but the regular-season Sun Belt title and the top seed in the conference tournament. The Lady Toppers only SBC loss of the season came against the Blue Raiders on Oct. 6 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
"I have had a lot of confidence in this team since August and I know what I saw when I was in the gym with them early on and the talent is here, and it was going to be a question of experience and making progress," Hudson said. "We have gained a lot of valuable experience as the year has gone on and the progress has been steady and we hope that it ends in a conference championship."
WKU (25-6, 14-1) extended its current conference winning streak to 10 matches over the weekend with a pair of 3-0 wins against Troy and South Alabama. With its win Saturday, the Lady Toppers reached the 25 win plateau for the second straight season and remain a perfect 6-0 at home in Sun Belt Conference matches.
Middle Tennessee (24-5, 14-1) picked up a pair of victories last weekend to stretch their current win streak to seven matches. The Blue Raiders have now won 21 of their last 22 matches.
The weekend for MTSU started with a 3-1 win over South Alabama, highlighted by the play of senior Izabela Kozon. She put up 18 kills over the four sets and hit at an outstanding .500 rate. Kozon also collected seven digs and four block assists. Against Troy, the duo of Sasha McGlothin and Kozon combined for 24 kills in the three-set sweep of the Trojans, led by Kozon's 13. McGlothin tied a career high with 11 kills, and junior Maria Szivos put up 12.
"We are about as big of rivals as you are going to find but rivalries come from two really good programs battling every year," Hudson said. "I have tremendous respect for what they have done this year. They replaced a lot of kids from a year ago and they have proven their toughness with some of the matches that they have gone out on the road and won this year.
"And certainly they handed it to us on their home floor a few weeks ago and so we are bitter rivals but at the same time, there is nothing but respect there in terms of the kind of program that they have."
WKU leads the all-time series with MTSU 35-13, including a 21-5 record at home and a 13-7 record on the road. MTSU has won the last four meetings. For WKU, the last win in Bowling Green was a 3-1 victory on Sept. 26, 2008.
Both teams are currently ranked in the top 40 in the most recent NCAA women's volleyball RPI rankings released Monday. The Lady Toppers come in at No. 36 and the Blue Raiders followed just four spots away at No. 40.
Seniors Emily Teegarden and Kelly Potts will be honored in a ceremony prior to the match.
For complete results and a recap of Friday's action, please visit WKUSports.com. Live stats and video streaming will also be available on the site.
Match Notes
