Nov. 1, 2013
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The saying that it's not over until it's over held true for the Western Kentucky University volleyball team (21-5, 11-1) on Friday night, as WKU battled through early deficits in the first two sets to take a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) at Texas State (17-11, 7-6).
WKU led in most of the major statistical categories by 20, as the visitors had more kills (53-33), assists (51-31) and digs (64-44) than Texas State. The Bobcats outblocked WKU 10-5.
Junior Heather Boyan led all attackers with 14 kills to hit .545 for the match while fellow middle hitter Noelle Langenkamp finished with 12 kills. Sophomore Haley Bodway and redshirt senior Paige Wessel had nine and eight kills, respectively.
Senior Melanie Stutsman recorded a double-double of 42 assists and 12 digs to go along with a trio of blocks. Senior CLASS Award finalist Ashley Potts tallied 25 digs and a service ace.
For Texas State, Shelby Vas Matt and Molly Ahrens had six kills each while Ahrens led the match with five blocks. Sierra Smith totaled 12 digs while Caylin Mahoney had 24 assists.
Down as much as five at 15-10, WKU continued to play through. After a WKU timeout at 17-13, the Lady Toppers used a pair of kills from Bodway and one each from Stutsman and Langenkamp to tie it at 18. Three kills by Boyan lifted WKU to a 23-21 lead. The Bobcats tied it at 23, but kills from Boyan and Wessel sealed the first set 25-23.
Faced again with an early deficit, WKU battled back to win the second set 25-23. After a Bobcat service ace put them ahead 10-6, seven tied scores occurred before WKU took a 21-20 advantage after a Potts ace. Tied again at 22 each, WKU pulled ahead 24-22 to force a Texas State break. A point for the home team threatened the lead, but a Langenkamp kill put the Lady Toppers ahead 2-0 at the break.
After the intermission, WKU carried the momentum into the third set, cruising to a 25-19 win. The Lady Toppers put up 19 kills to Texas State's seven while 24 digs by WKU held the Bobcats to a .051 hitting percentage.
WKU continues the Texas road trip on Saturday, November 2 at UT Arlington for a 3 p.m. match. It marks the final Sun Belt Conference road game in the regular season, as WKU closes the year with five matches in E.A. Diddle Arena.
For more information on WKU volleyball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the team on Twitter via @TravisHudsonWKU and @WKUVolleyball.
