Sept. 28, 2014
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— After going up on Rice 2-0 at the break, the WKU volleyball team (14-4, 2-0) found itself in a dogfight before edging the Owls (11-5, 1-1) in a five-set thriller (25-13, 25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 18-16) on Sunday in E.A. Diddle Arena.
The day's event marked the first Conference USA contest in Bowling Green since WKU joined the league officially in July, as the offense guided WKU to the victory. The Lady Toppers hit .307 as a team while five players marked double-digit kills, led by junior Noelle Langenkamp's 13. Freshman Alyssa Cavanaugh put down crucial kills for WKU on her way to 12 kills while senior Heather Boyan and freshman Sydney Engle had 11 each. Freshman Jessica Lucas put up another double-double on the weekend with 50 assists and 10 kills.
Sophomore Georgia O'Connell paced the defensive players with 18 digs followed by junior Rachel Engle with nine. Langenkamp tallied a team-high four blocks with Lucas, Boyan and Cavanaugh right behind with three apiece.
"We didn't play great early, but we did play really hard early," said WKU head coach Travis Hudson. "I thought we had a lot of energy. I called a timeout in game three and told them that they were playing flat, and that Rice is a good team, and unfortunately I was right. Next thing you know we are in a dogfight that could have been anybody's match. Luckily we made one more play than they did."
For Rice, Leah Mikesky and Jillian Humphrey collected 13 kills each while Andi Bawcum had 12. Kimberly Vaio and Daniela Arenas had 15 and 13 digs, respectively, while Portia Okafor was a force at the net with a match-high seven blocks.
The Lady Toppers started out aggressive in the first two sets, holding Rice to a -.067 hitting percentage in the opening frame to win 25-13. O'Connell held a strong serve in the first set, recording three service aces, as WKU had a 7-0 and 4-0 run under her serve. The momentum carried over in the second set with WKU leading as much as six points. Behind five kills from Cavanaugh, WKU won the set 25-21.
Rice made adjustments at the break to come out swinging a .552 hitting clip in the third frame to win 25-20. Five team blocks in the fourth frame from the Owls brought the contest to a deciding fifth set after the visitors won 25-21.
Up 4-2 early in the fifth, Rice was able to keep its distance from WKU, consistently holding a 1-2 point lead throughout the frame. Down 13-10 after a block and kill by Rice, WKU worked its way to a tied game after kills from Langenkamp and junior Haley Bodway knotted it at 14 each with Rice calling a timeout. The Owls gained set point at 15-14 and 16-15, but a kill from Lucas followed by a solo block and kill from Cavanaugh brought the Diddle Arena crowd to its feet, as WKU won 18-16.
WKU will have a week of practice before heading to the Sunshine State to face FIU on Friday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. CT. The Lady Toppers will then go to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 5.
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.
