Nov. 17, 2013
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The five Western Kentucky University volleyball seniors closed out their last regular-season and home match on Sunday afternoon, as WKU (27-5, 17-1) took a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-8, 25-11) over Troy (12-20, 7-11) in E.A. Diddle Arena.
Janee' Diggins, Ashley Potts, Lindsay Spears, Melanie Stutsman and Paige Wessel were recognized prior to the match and played in all three sets. They hold a 118-22 record in their careers, including 51-6 in Diddle Arena and 61-4 in Sun Belt Conference matches with three NCAA Tournament appearances, three SBC regular-season titles and two SBC Tournament titles.
The seniors along with the other Lady Toppers will try for their third-straight SBC Tournament title next week, as the tourney begins on Thursday in Troy, Ala. WKU will hold the No. 1 seed.
In the win over Troy, sophomore Haley Bodway led with nine kills while Wessel tallied a .583 hitting mark with eight kills. Defensively, WKU posted 13 blocks, the most since the Western Michigan match on Sept. 21 with 14. Sophomore Noelle Langenkamp led with seven while Stutsman had six and Spears with five.
Back row defense was also on key in the afternoon, as Potts closed out with 13, now five away from tying WKU's all-time record. Stutsman tallied a double-double with her 28 assists and 10 digs while Wessel and Langenkamp had seven digs each.
The Lady Toppers held Troy to a -.029 hitting mark with 23 kills and 26 errors. Kayla Pickart led the Trojans with six kills. Courtney Cohen tallied 12 digs while Kiah Cheatham had four blocks.
After falling behind 2-0 early in the first set, WKU came out with four-straight points to take a 4-2 lead. Knotted at 7, WKU put up another 4-0 run with kills from Stutsman and Bodway to go with a Stutsman and Spears block assist. After Troy regained the lead at 16-15, WKU came out of a timeout with a 3-0 run. Tied at 18, the Lady Toppers again responded with six-straight points that included two kills, two blocks and a Wessel ace. Stutsman posted nine digs, eight assists and three blocks to go with Potts' six digs in the set to help WKU win 25-19.
Spears came out with two early kills in the second frame to lift WKU ahead 6-3. After Troy cut the lead to 6-4, a 9-0 run by the Lady Toppers made it 15-4, and Troy never got closer than 10 points in the rest of the set. WKU closed out the set with a 19-4 run en route to a 25-8 win. It was the first time since the Belmont match in early September that WKU held an opponent to less than 10 points in a set, as WKU hit .542 and held Troy to -.100.
Tied up at 6 after the break, WKU added five-straight points with a kill and block by Bodway plus a block assist from Langenkamp and Stutsman. An 11-2 run by WKU made it 17-8. Behind the serving arm of Langenkamp, WKU added four more points before a Diggins' kill made it 24-10. Head coach Travis Hudson then called a timeout, as all five seniors were on the court to let them enjoy their final points in Diddle Arena. A kill by Wessel gave WKU the 25-11 win.
Full SBC Tournament bracket and information will be released soon, so make sure to visit WKUSports.com for all the details.
For all the latest news and information on WKU volleyball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program on Twitter via @TravisHudsonWKU and @WKUVolleyball.
