BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team extended its Sun Belt Conference winning streak to six matches with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-15) sweep of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night at the ULM Activity Center in Monroe, La.
The Lady Toppers (23-3, 10-1 SBC) have won nine straight meetings with the Warhawks (9-11, 3-7) and 20 of their last 22 matches overall. ULM tallied 31 kills and was limited to a .146 hitting percentage while committing 17 attack errors.
"I'm very, very pleased with what I saw this weekend," WKU coach Travis Hudson. "Offensively we really did some good some good things and on both sides of the ball, I thought they were good."
WKU had five players with at least six kills, led by middle hitter Lindsay Williams with 13. The senior did not commit an attack error in 23 attempts for a .562 hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore Paige Wessel and junior Jordyn Skinner each tallied 11 kills followed by senior Tiffany Elmore with seven kills and Melanie Stutsman with six kills. As a team, WKU had 50 kills and a .349 hitting mark.
"When we watched them on film, we thought we could attack them out of the middle and Lindsay (Williams) struggled a little bit last night but as she typically does she always bounces back with a great effort and she did that again today," Hudson said.
Lady Topper junior Sarah Rogers paced the team defensively with 14 digs. Skinner added 10 digs to record her third-straight double-double and 14th of the season. Sophomore libero Ashley Potts also had 10 digs, her 23rd double-digit match of the year.
"The real bright spot defensively tonight was Sarah Rogers," Hudson said. "She led us in digs tonight and that is probably the first time that's happened this year. She was just really, really active from the very first point of the match and she was the difference maker. She was an absolute difference maker."
Williams recorded four blocks while Skinner added three blocks. Elmore and Wessel each added a pair of blocks.
With the score knotted at 9-9 in the first set, WKU tallied 10 of the next 13 points to build a 19-12 lead and never led by fewer than five points the rest of the way. The Lady Toppers closed out the 25-17 win on back-to-back kills by Elmore and Williams.
The two teams traded points back and forth in the beginning of the second set with several ties early on. WKU built an 18-14 lead before ULM used a 5-1 run to tie the match at 19-19. With the score tied again at 21-21, the Lady Toppers scored the final four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match
WKU led 14-12 in the third set and used a 9-1 run to pull in front 23-13 before closing out the win on a kill by Diggins.
The Lady Toppers return to action next weekend in their final home matches of the season. WKU takes on Denver at 7 p.m. Friday before facing North Texas at noon Saturday. Both matches will be played at E.A. Diddle Arena.
"We are just trying to build positive momentum and (the 2-0 weekend) is another good step forward that we took," Hudson said. "And that senior weekend, that last weekend at home is always an emotional time for our kids, and I expect us to play well."
Hudson will be looking for his 400th career win on Friday against the Pioneers. Over the last 17 seasons, Hudson has compiled a record of 399-175, good for a .695 winning percentage.
