MIAMI - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team captured the fourth Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship in program history, and first since 2008, with a 3-1 (25-22, 12-25, 25-18, 25-18) victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
"It is just a special day for WKU volleyball," WKU coach Travis Hudson said. "We played an excellent team in Middle Tennessee and they've had a number for a while and we were able to find a way on senior night at their place and again today. I thought we just wouldn't quit."
The Lady Toppers (31-3) earn the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the 2011 Women's NCAA Volleyball Tournament and will wait until Sunday, Nov. 27 for the NCAA selection show, scheduled for 5 p.m. Central time on ESPNU, to learn their destination and opponent for the school's sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"We're excited to get there," Hudson said. "The one thing that's eluded us is advancing in the NCAA Tournament and we hope that this is the year we have a team that can do that."
WKU seniors Tiffany Elmore and Lindsay Williams were named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament team while junior Jordyn Skinner was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
"(Jordyn's) just an absolute stat stuffer," Hudson said. "I say that over and over but she's so worries about what she's doing offensively but she's a kid that can win matches in so many ways. Today defensively with 17 digs she was a huge part of it there and I can't say enough about here as an athlete."
The Lady Toppers' 31 wins are the most among NCAA Division I teams and tied for third most in school history. The last team to win 31 matches was the 2005 squad that finished the year 31-3.
As a team, WKU tallied 52 kills and 42 digs while limiting Middle Tennessee (20-11) to 37 kills and a .162 hitting percentage.
Three different Lady Toppers tallied double-digit kills led by Skinner with 13. Elmore followed with 11 kills and redshirt sophomore Paige Wessel added 10 kills. Sophomore Janee' Diggins recorded eight kills as did Williams.
Defensively, Skinner posted her 20th double-double of the season with a team-high 17 digs. Sophomore libero Ashley Potts finished the match with seven digs while junior Sarah Rogers had six digs.
Williams led the Lady Toppers with five blocks while Wessel and setter Melanie Stutsman each added two blocks.
Down 10-9 in the first set, WKU used a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 12-10. MTSU kept the game close as the biggest lead the Lady Toppers were able to build was three points at 15-12 and again at 17-14. Up 23-22, WKU closed out the 25-22 win on back-to-back kills by Wessel and Elmore.
After jumping out to a 6-1 advantage, MTSU used a 10-1 run with the score 7-4 to take a 17-5 lead. The Blue Raiders led by at least 10 points the rest of the way and tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-12 win in the second set.
The two teams traded points back and forth in the beginning of the third set, seeing nine ties and one lead change. With the score knotted at 11-11, WKU tallied back-to-back points to pull in front 13-11. With the score 16-13, the Lady Toppers used a 6-1 run to take a 22-14 lead and remain in front the rest of the way.
WKU closed out the match with a 25-18 win in the fourth set. With the score tied at 10-10, WKU used a 4-2 run to edge in front 14-12. The Lady Toppers then tallied six of the next seven points to take a 20-13 lead and stayed in front by at least five points the rest of the way.
"(Resiliency) has been the mark of our team all year," Hudson said. "We stay relaxed and continue to play and then I think we turned the tables on them. I think in Game Three when we came back and were settled, I think they were a little uptight as the match wore on. If you've watched our team at all this year you know that no matter what the situation, we'll think we have way to win and it's served us well."
