BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team will look to capture the eighth Sun Belt Conference East Division Championship in program history Friday when it takes on rival Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gym in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
"It's all you can ask is to give yourself a chance at the end to win a championship and this team has worked very, very hard to put ourselves in this position," WKU coach Travis Hudson said. "It seems like it's come down to us and Middle Tennessee many times over the past several years and we've won our share of them and they've won their share of them. They've certainly won their share lately against us and we look forward to another opportunity against a terrific team."
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. 4 in Bowling Green.
"I think we're way better offensively (than the first matchup)," Hudson said. "I think were definitely playing the best volleyball we've play all year and it is exciting to say going into tournament time. We know the challenge is great. They were able to come in here and get a win on our home floor and now with their home crowd behind them, it is going to make them that much better and we understand the challenge and we look forward to it."
WKU (27-3, 14-1) improved to 6-0 on the road in league play this year with a pair of road wins last weekend over South Alabama and Troy. The Lady Toppers also extended their conference winning streak to 10 matches. All 10 wins in the streak have come via a sweep and WKU's 27 wins are the most by a Division I program in the nation.
The Lady Toppers are 9-2 overall on the road this season with it loses coming at No. 13 Kentucky and in five sets at No. 18 Cincinnati.
Middle Tennessee (18-9, 14-1) has won a school record 16 consecutive matches since a 2-9 start. The streak is tied for the third-longest winning streak in the country, behind Hawaii and Jackson State, who have each won 19 in a row, and even with Northern Iowa.
"They are a tough matchup for us," Hudson said. "They are really athletic. They're really, really sound and well coached. The start they had, I said when we played them the first time, this team is every bit as good as the team's they've put out there in the past and they've found their stride. They are the complete package."
The Blue Raiders have held six straight conference opponents under a .100 attack percentage. The last opponent to break the mark was FIU on October 16. The Blue Raiders lead the Sun Belt with a .272 hitting percentage and are third in opponent hitting percentage.
WKU leads the all-time series with Middle Tennessee 35-16, including a 13-8 record in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU has won seven straight meetings between the two teams. For the Lady Toppers, the last win in Murfreesboro was a 3-2 victory on Oct. 17, 2006.
Both teams are currently ranked in the top 50 in the most recent NCAA women's volleyball RPI rankings released Monday. The Lady Toppers come in at No. 25 and the Blue Raiders follow at No. 49.
"This time of year, this is the fun part," Hudson said. "As I told our kids, we don't have any more matches that we're not playing for something. We're playing for a regular season championship Friday and then the next three we're playing for a Sun Belt Tournament championship and then hopefully playing for NCAA tournament wins after that, so this is what you do all the work for, to get to this point in the season and we're really excited about it."
For complete results and a recap of Friday's action, please visit WKUSports.com. Live stats and streaming video will also be available on the site.
Match Notes
