BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the first time in program history, the Western Kentucky University volleyball team entered the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, ranked No. 24 in the nation, as released by the AVCA on Monday.
"I'm just really, really excited for the kids and our athletic community in general to bring some notoriety to WKU that we have one of the best programs in the country," WKU coach Travis Hudson said.
WKU (31-3) moved up from last week's No. 26 spot after winning the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Championship on Saturday. The Lady Toppers defeated Middle Tennessee 3-1 to clinch the tournament title and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. WKU will make its second consecutive appearance in the NCAAs and sixth overall.
The Lady Toppers - ranked No. 21 in the NCAA RPI - earned the No. 1 seed in the SBC Tournament after clinching the East Division crown en route to earning their fourth conference championship in program history and first since 2008.
This year's Lady Topper squad is only the fifth in program history to win at least 30 games in a season. The last team to do so was the 2005 squad that finished the season 31-3. WKU's 31 wins are currently the most of any Division I program this season, and the team is riding a ten-match winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament.
"For me, it is just a little bit surreal when you consider that I finished my first year as a head coach and we were ranked 298 in the RPI that year," Hudson said. "And to be experiencing the things we are experiencing now with the kind of kids that we have in our program, it says so much about all the people that have had a hand in doing this. All the former players that have come through here, our administration through the years in terms of giving us the support that we need, and the fans and the community here in and around Bowling Green who have come out and supported this program and made it something special."
WKU now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate. The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled to air at 5 p.m. on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 27.
