Box Score
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PROVO, Utah -- 20th-ranked WKU volleyball (32-3) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening for the second time in program history with a straight-set victory over PAC-12 opponent Arizona (25-22, 25-15, 25-17) in BYU's Smith Fieldhouse.
"I felt our kids played incredibly hard," head coach Travis Hudson said. "There are things we could have done better but we played hard from beginning to end and that's all you can ask for this time of year."
Reining Conference USA Setter-of-the-Year Jessica Lucas led a Lady Topper squad that was firing on all cylinders as the sophomore recorded her 14th double-double on the year with team-high 10 kills to go with a match-high 30 assists.
As a team, WKU finished with five player with six or more kills as the Lady Toppers hit .261 as a team. Lucas recorded her 10 kills on match-high .556 hitting, as the Indiana-native had just 18 swings on the contest. The sophomore also added 5 digs to her stat-stuffing effort on the night. Fellow sophomore Alyssa Cavanaugh fell just shy of a double-digit kill count as the outside hitter finished with nine kills and five digs. Senior Haley Bodway also tallied nine kills on .368 hitting while Sydney Engle finished with eight on .538 hitting and freshman Rachel Anderson added six for the Lady Toppers.
WKU served up a tremendous defensive effort as the Lady Toppers limited Arizona (19-14) to just .102 hitting on the night. Junior Georgia O'Connell and senior Rachel Engle each recorded double-digit digs for the Lady Tops. O'Connell's led with a match-high 19 while Engle fell just one dig shy of a season high with 14 on the contest. At the net, the taller Wildcats owned a 9-4 advantage over WKU as both Lucas and Anderson finished with a pair total blocks on the match.
"I thought we defended really well." Hudson said. "When you hold an Arizona team to a .102 hitting percentage you have done your work."
In addition to strong offensive and defensive efforts, WKU was extremely solid at the serving line as the Lady Toppers finished with six service aces as Lucas and O'Connell each added a pair on the night.
With the victory over the Wildcats, WKU is now 4-0 on the year against opponents from the Big Ten (Wisconsin, Northwestern), SEC (Alabama) and PAC-12. Three of those victories came in straight sets while the victory over the No. 6 overall seed Badgers ended in four. The victory also marked the Lady Toppers 21st on the year.
WKU's only other trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament came in 2012 when the Lady Toppers swept Loyola Marymount in Stanford, California, before falling to the host Cardinal.
The Lady Toppers return to action tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. CT as WKU is set to play the winner of 13th-seed BYU and Ohio in BYU's Smith Fieldhouse.
