Nov. 13, 2013
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University volleyball team (25-5, 15-1) went for the three-peat Wednesday night, as the Lady Toppers' 3-0 win (25-15, 25-23, 25-14) over Georgia State (9-21, 4-12) gave the team its third-straight Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship.
It is the 11th in program history and 10th under 19-year head coach Travis Hudson, as the team will compete in its final SBC Tournament next week before entering into Conference USA next season. WKU looks to become the first team in SBC history to win the regular-season and tournament championships three years in a row.
With 39 assists in the match, senior Melanie Stutsman tied WKU's career assists record of 5,172 to be a co-all-time leader with Sara Noe. With Stutsman's first assist in the next match, she will gain sole possession and break the record Noe set from the 1999-02 seasons.
In the win, redshirt senior Paige Wessel posted an outstanding .846 hitting percentage for a new career best, as she had a team-high 11 kills on 13 attempts with no errors. Sophomores Noelle Langenkamp, Rachel Engle and Haley Bodway had nine kills each. Junior Heather Boyan, Wessel and Langenkamp had three blocks apiece.
Senior Ashley Potts tallied 16 digs, as she is 51 digs away from tying a career record of her own with 1,871 digs. Freshman Georgia O'Connell and Stutsman followed with eight digs each.
After a slow start in the opening set had WKU down 8-7 with a timeout called, the Lady Toppers put together a 7-1 run to pull ahead 14-9. After two GSU timeouts, WKU added a scoring spree of 6-1 to win the set 25-15.
Four kills early from Langenkamp put WKU with a 6-3 advantage in the second set. The Panthers kept up with WKU, eventually pulling ahead 12-11 after four-straight points. WKU found room and got its biggest lead of the set at 20-14 after a block assist from Langenkamp and Stutsman. GSU closed the gap out of a timeout, using a 9-4 run to hold off set point at 24-23; however, a kill from Engle sealed the set 25-23.
Two blocks plus an ace from Potts pushed WKU ahead 8-1 in the final frame's opening points. WKU kept its distance the entire set, leading by as much as nine points and only letting the lead diminish to as few as six points. WKU's last six points of the match all came from the arm of Bodway, as her six kills sealed the set 25-14.
WKU closes out the regular season this weekend, as the team welcomes South Alabama on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. before finishing with Troy on Sunday at noon for Senior Day in E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU will recognize its five seniors prior to the contest.
For all the latest news and information on WKU volleyball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program on Twitter via @TravisHudsonWKU and @WKUVolleyball.
