BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU volleyball ended the opening night of the 2015 Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational on a high note as the Lady Toppers earned a split decision on the day with their second victory over a Big Ten opponent on the year as WKU swept Northwestern (25-23, 27-25, 25-21).
The win proved to be the third victory over a Big Ten foe in the last two seasons, including a pair of teams (Purdue and Wisconsin) who were ranked in the top ten nationally at the time.
Missouri State 3, WKU 2
The Lady Tops opened the weekend invite by dropping a tough battle to Missouri State in five sets: (25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 9-15).
WKU got off to a hot start offensively as the Lady Tops captured the first two sets by laying down a combined 32 kills on 66 attacks.
MSU (6-2) came out of intermission with a renewed defensive focus as the Bears stymied the Lady Topper offensive attack the rest of the way as WKU could only muster 27 combined kills on .085 hitting over the final three sets.
Senior Noelle Langenkamp paced the Lady Toppers with a career-best 18 kills off a .438 hitting clip. Sophomore Alyssa Cavanaugh was the only other Lady Top to earn double-digit kills as the outside hitter finished with 10 on the contest.
Sophomore Georgia O'Connell had an outstanding defensive effort for WKU, finishing with a career-best 27 digs on the afternoon.
WKU 3, Northwestern 0
The Lady Toppers rebounded in the nightcap as Alyssa Cavanaugh paced WKU to a victory over Northwestern (5-3) in order to earn the split on the day.
Cavanaugh had a big night offensively for the Lady Tops, finishing with a career-high 17 kills on a .351 hitting percentage. Langenkamp added nine as WKU outhit Northwestern, finishing with a .189 clip compared to NU's .144 hitting.
O'Connell once again had a great defensive outing, finishing with a match-high 21 digs. Overall, O'Connell tallied 48 digs over the two matches. Junior Kaelin Grimes added 14 digs while sophomore Jessica Lucas finished with nine to go with 35 assists.
WKU (7-2) returns to action Saturday morning as the Lady Tops wrap the 2015 Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational with a contest against Furman at 11 a.m. CT in E.A. Diddle Arena.
WKU Volleyball season tickets are on-sale now and can be purchased online at wkusports.com or by calling the WKU Ticket Office at 270-745-5222 or 1-800-5BIGRED. Flexible ticket packages offer fans 12 general admission vouchers that can be used throughout the season at all home WKU volleyball games.
