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In a day where the offense uncharacteristically struggled, multiple Lady Toppers stepped up on defense, as sophomore Georgia O'Connell had a match-high 19 digs. Following her efforts was freshman Jessica Lucas with a double-double of 47 assists and 12 digs, her seventh of the season, while sophomore Kaelin Grimes notched 10 digs.
WKU tabbed 10 more digs than the Owls at 63 while tallying one more block at 13 with senior Heather Boyan putting down eight, including three solo blocks. Junior Noelle Langenkamp added five of her own while Lucas had four and freshman Alyssa Cavanaugh had three.
"My only thought after the first set was to keep my team calm because our offense let us down in the first set and that will never continue throughout a match," said WKU head coach Travis Hudson. "Our offense is in the top 20 in the nation. Our offense will come if we stay the course, but when we struggle offensively, we start to panic and blow defensive assignments. If we keep defending, we will be in this."
Offensively, Cavanaugh put down 15 kills and Boyan collected 11. As a team, WKU hit .207, far below its average for the Conference USA slate, but had 59 kills compared to Florida Atlantic's 47.
For the Owls, three players hit double-digit kills, led by Kristi Tekavec's 12 while Katarina Stepanovic had 11 and Brittney Brown had 10. Michelle Swope recorded 13 digs in the back court with Stepanovic and Brown along with Ivana Bulajic leading the charge at the net with four blocks each.
FAU fell behind early in the first set, but a 5-0 run allowed the Owls to gain momentum and eventually carry it to a 14-10 lead. The Lady Toppers stayed behind most of the match before gathering themselves to tie it at 21 with a block by Langenkamp and Cavanaugh, but FAU capitalized on WKU miscues before two Owl kills gave it the win at 25-22.
WKU clicked much better in the second frame, as six kills from Cavanaugh and seven digs from O'Connell led WKU to a 25-19 win. The Lady Toppers quickly got out to a 7-3 lead before a block from the tandem of Boyan and Cavanaugh put WKU ahead 12-8. After a FAU timeout, WKU didn't allow the Owls to gather more than two points at a time, allowing itself to roll to a 25-19 win.
Lucas was all over the place for WKU in the third, guiding the team to a 25-21 win. The Seymour, Ind., native had 12 assists, five digs, four kills and two blocks in the frame while notching the lone service ace. The teams stayed close early before three-consecutive points for WKU distanced it from FAU at 14-11. The Owls rallied to tie it at 15 each, but a block by Boyan and Lucas set WKU ahead 18-15 before going on to the win.
Errors hurt both teams in the fourth set, as both team's hit below .100 for the frame. WKU found itself trailing at 10-8 and later at 19-16, as Hudson called a break to regroup his crew. With an ace from Grimes, WKU tied it at 19 each before consecutive kills from junior Haley Bodway, Lucas and Boyan had WKU with match point at 24-21. FAU held off that needed point with a kill and block, but an attack error on the Owls finished it with WKU winning 25-23.
The team hits the road for three matches over the next two weekends, including UAB on Friday, Oct. 31, Southern Miss on Friday, Nov. 7 and Marshall on Sunday, Nov. 9.
The 2014 WKU volleyball season is being presented by the United States Marines. This season, the Marines and WKU Athletics are working together to promote the outstanding athletic and academic achievements of our female student-athletes. The Marines are proud to work with and support these future leaders of America.
For all the latest news and information on WKU volleyball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program on Twitter via @TravisHudsonWKU and @WKUVolleyball.
