WKU vs. Alabama Box Score
WKU vs. UNI Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. -- WKU volleyball extended its winning streak to five games Friday afternoon as the Lady Toppers picked up a pair of victories over Alabama and Northern Illinois on the first day of the Huskie Invitational, hosted by Northern Illinois University.
WKU 3, Alabama 0
The dynamic hitting duo of Alyssa Cavanaugh and Noelle Langenkamp powered WKU to a sweep of Alabama (25-21, 25-22, 25-22) Friday in the team's first match of the Huskie Invite.
With the victory, the Lady Toppers improved its season record to 3-0 against Power Five conference schools. In addition to the sweep of the Crimson Tide, WKU also topped Big Ten opponents Wisconsin and Northwestern earlier in the year.
Knotted at 17 late in a hard-fought opening set, WKU notched six of the next seven points in order to take a 23-18 advantage and put some separation between the two teams. After Alabama drew to within three off a WKU attack error, a kill by freshman Rachel Anderson gave the set to the Lady Tops, 25-21.
Cavanaugh shined for the Lady Toppers throughout the first stanza as the sophomore recorded a .500 hitting clip while accounting for six of WKU's 13 kills.
The second set was another tight, back-and-forth battle as the two team traded points early on. With the two teams tied at 10, WKU broke the stalemate by tallying five of the next six points as the Lady Toppers pushed ahead, 15-11.
The Lady Tops never lost its advantage the rest of the way as another rookie finished off the set in WKU's favor. Leading 24-22 late, freshman Taylor Dellinger closed the door on the Crimson Tide as the rookie tallied set point off a kill, giving the Lady Toppers a 2-0 advantage on the match.
It was Langenkamp`s turn to lead WKU's offensive in the second set as the veteran was nearly perfect on the stanza, connecting on six of her seven attacks.
Cavanaugh and Langenkamp joined forces in the third set as the duo accounted for 10 of WKU's 15 kills on the set as the Lady Toppers captured the final stanza, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.
Cavanaugh finished with a match-high 15 kills while Langenkamp added 11 off a season-best .579 hitting percentage. Dellinger and sophomore Sydney Engle each chipped in five for the Lady Tops.
Defensively, Georgia O'Connell paced WKU with 11 digs while both Langenkamp and Lucas matched season-highs with six and four blocks respectively.
WKU 3, UNI 1
A big hitting effort from Alyssa Cavanaugh propelled WKU to its fifth consecutive victory Friday afternoon as the Lady Toppers defeated Northern Iowa in four sets (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15) to close their opening day of the 2015 Huskie Invitational.
Cavanaugh led a Lady Topper attack that finished the match with a .323 team hitting percentage. The outside hitter matched a season-high with 17 kills on .278 hitting. Fellow sophomore Sydney Engle also shined offensively for the Lady Tops, tying a career-best 11 kills on a season-high .524 hitting clip.
WKU jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the match as the Lady Toppers edged the Panthers, 25-22, in the opening set and ran away for a 25-15 victory in the second stanza.
UNI fought back and extended the match by taking the third set, 25-22, but WKU responded to having dropped its first set in the last four matches by dominating the fourth as the Lady Toppers produced .483 hitting on the stanza in order to take the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.
Setter Jessica Lucas tallied a match-high 46 assists, just one shy of her season-high of 47 set against Southern Illinois.
Defensively, Georgia O'Connell paced WKU with 21 digs while Cavanaugh added a pair of solo blocks as the Lady Toppers limited NIU to .160 hitting.
WKU (11-2) returns to action tomorrow morning as the Lady Toppers are set to conclude the Huskie Invitational by meeting host Northern Illinois at 11 a.m. CT. Live stats will be available for the contest with the Huskies as well as subscription-based video via NIUTube.
