Box Score
MADISON, Wisc. -- WKU Volleyball showed plenty of grit and fight Saturday morning as the Lady Toppers grinded out a victory over the College of Charleston (1-1) in three sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) on the second day of the 2015 HotelRED Invitational at the UW Field House.
Coming off a thrilling, 3-1, upset victory over the host and fifth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers Friday evening, the Lady Tops were severely challenged by the Cougars as each set was determined by no more than three points.
The Lady Tops took their largest advantage, 19-15, in the opening set off a Charleston service error but a CofC kill tied the contest at 19. WKU responded with a 5-0 spurt in order to gain set point, 24-19.
Charleston rallied, earning three consecutive points to pull within two but a kill by senior Noelle Langenkamp ended the Cougar attack as WKU took the opening set, 25-22.
Langenkamp paced the WKU offense in the opening stanza as the middle hitter finished with five kills off eight attacks as the Lady Tops finished with a .250 hitting percentage compared to CofC's .128 clip.
The College of Charleston came out firing on all cylinders in the second stanza as the Cougars raced out to a 7-0 advantage over the Lady Tops before a CofC serving error gave WKU its first point of the set.
WKU, led offensively by sophomore Sydney Engle, stayed close with Charleston throughout the play that followed and a kill by senior Haley Bodway knotted the contest at 19.
It was a back and forth battle the rest of the way as an Engle kill proved to be the difference in the tight affair, helping WKU take the set, 26-24, and the 2-0 advantage heading into intermission.
Engle led the charge for the Lady Toppers, finishing the set with five kills off seven attacks for a .429 hitting percentage. The Lady Top defense held CofC to a .093 hitting percentage on the set.
The third set was similar to the previous two as the two teams played even throughout much of the stanza.
WKU took the its biggest advantage, 19-14, off a kill by Haley Bodway. CofC tallied four consecutive points in order to claw within a single point, 19-18.
The Lady Toppers never surrendered their lead, however, as a Charleston service error gave the set to WKU, 25-23, as the Lady Tops earned a hard fought sweep of the Cougars, 3-0.
Langenkamp and Engle led WKU offensively on the match as the pair finished with 13 and 11 kills respectively. Langenkamp led the Lady Tops with a .545 hitting percentage as overall the Lady Tops finished the match with a .216 clip and limited Charleston to a .149 percentage.
Sophomore Jessica Lucas finished with a double-double of 18 digs to go along with 37 assists. She also added four kills to her impressive overall stat line.
Defensively, WKU finished the match with 13 total blocks compared to CofC's 11. WKU's Kaelin Grimes finished with a season-high 15 digs while Georgia O'Connell added 11.
WKU (2-0) returns to action Saturday afternoon as head coach Travis Hudson goes for his 500th career victory against Colgate at 4:30 p.m. CT. in the Lady Tops final match of the 2015 HotelRED Invitational at the UW Field House.
