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BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— The WKU volleyball team may be a young squad, but the Lady Toppers fought off a No. 8 Purdue comeback to record a 3-2 win in E.A. Diddle Arena on Friday night, recording a victory over the highest-ranked opponent in program history.
Purdue (7-1) came into the contest undefeated in matches and sets on the season. WKU (8-2) quickly took a 2-0 lead before the Boilermakers knotted it after the break. For the second-straight year, WKU then defeated a nationally-ranked Purdue team in five sets. The win marks the fourth time in the last three seasons that WKU has knocked out a top-25 opponent.
WKU's previous highest-ranked opponent that it beat was No. 10 Dayton, who WKU also took down in its home tournament in 2012. The match versus Purdue opened the 2014 Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational for the home squad, as WKU won the match in front of over 1,100 Hilltopper faithful for its seventh-straight win.
"I'm just really, really happy for our kids," WKU head coach Travis Hudson said. "After 20 years, I have been in this situation, I have been in big matches, and I just really enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching our young kids compete at a high level in an atmosphere that they deserve. It was just a lot of fun for me to sit back and watch people emerge and who didn't—it was just a lot of fun for me.
"In the fifth set, I just challenged them to be more emotional, more aggressive as a team, and if that's not enough then we will shake their hands and congratulate them on a tough comeback on the road because they would have deserved it, but let's make sure they have to earn it."
Offensively, junior Noelle Langenkamp paced WKU with 13 kills at a .464 hitting mark, recording no errors in the match. Senior Heather Boyan, junior Haley Bodway and freshman Alyssa Cavanaugh followed with nine each. Freshman Jessica Lucas continues to offer a balanced attack in all the game's facets, notching a double-double of 44 assists and 10 digs with seven kills and four blocks.
Sophomore Georgia O'Connell and freshman Jackie Scott helped bolster the back row with 16 and 11 digs, respectively. Though both teams put down 11 team blocks, Langenkamp offered a match-high six stops at the net, as Boyan and Bodway had four each.
For Purdue, Annie Drews was a hard stop, as she hit 33 kills, just two shy of tying the most WKU has allowed by an opponent. Val Nichol had a double-double of 59 assists and 14 digs with four blocks while Amanda Neill posted 27 digs.
WKU's adrenaline kicked in early in the game, pulling out a 9-3 lead after a Scott ace and block from Langenkamp and Lucas. Purdue used a pair of 4-0 runs to take the lead at 16-14 before WKU came back with another Scott ace to erase the lead at 20-17. WKU had set point at 24-20, but Purdue rattled off four-straight points to have the set go to extra points. The teams tied it up three times before a Purdue attack error and Langenkamp kill gave WKU the 29-27 win.
The Lady Toppers built an early cushion in set two, leading Purdue 11-9 at a Boilermakers' timeout. WKU continued to hold Purdue off with a Langenkamp-Lucas block capping off a 4-0 run at 18-12. Not letting Purdue any closer than three points, WKU headed into the break with a 2-0 lead after winning the frame 25-20.
After drawing a hot hand early, WKU fell behind quickly in the third set, as Purdue used a 12-2 run to go up 15-9. WKU chipped away at the deficit, getting within one point at 21-20 and 22-21 after Lucas kills, but Purdue closed out the frame with three-consecutive points to win 25-21.
The fourth frame was all Purdue, as the Lady Toppers couldn't match Purdue's offensive output with the Boilermakers hitting at a .458 clip with 13 kills. Long scoring rallies in the set helped Purdue force a deciding fifth set at 25-13.
After taking a lead at 2-1, it would be the last lead for Purdue of the match, as WKU fed off the Diddle Arena crowd to win the set at 16-14. After Cavanaugh posted two block assists and a kill, Purdue needed time at the benches, calling a break at 5-2 before another was needed at 10-7. Up 14-10, WKU was held at set point as Purdue tied it at 14. However, a kill from Boyan along with a stop at the net by Boyan and freshman Sydney Engle closed the match with a WKU victory.
The weekend's action concludes on Saturday with WKU taking on Austin Peay at 11 a.m. CT and Western Michigan at 5 p.m. CT. WKU faculty and staff will get in free on Saturday with WKU ID and Warren County Youth League participants will receive one free ticket and unlimited $3 tickets for friends and family.
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.
