WKU vs. SIU Box Score
WKU vs. Dayton Box Score
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- No. 20 WKU closed out the 2015 Saluki Invitational by splitting a pair of matches Saturday afternoon in SIU Arena. The Lady Toppers defeated host SIU, 3-1, in the first contest of the day and fell to Dayton, 3-0, in the final match of the weekend.
WKU 3, Southern Illinois 1
The Lady Toppers ran out to a commanding, 20-14, advantage over the Salukis in the opening set of the match but SIU responded by closing the gap as the hosts rattled off four consecutive points to claw to within two, 20-18. WKU countered by notching five of the next seven points in order to capture the first set, 25-20.
Senior Noelle Langenkamp paced the Lady Top offense as the middle hitter finished the stanza with five kills off just seven attacks.
SIU evened the match heading into intermission as the Salukis tallied a match-high .325 hitting percentage in order to take the second set, 25-20.
Sophomore Alyssa Cavanaugh led the WKU attack, finishing the set with a .429 hitting clip, notching four kills on seven attacks.
WKU responded in the third set as the Lady Toppers raced out to a 16-10 advantage midway through the stanza. The Lady Tops pushed their advantage to 20-12 off a kill by senior Haley Bodway and never looked back as WKU took a 2-1 advantage on the match after capturing the set, 25-16.
Three different players tallied three kills for the Lady Tops as Langenkamp, Sydney Engle and Bodway led the way offensively. Defensively, O'Connell recorded eight digs on the set.
The fourth set was a tight contest throughout as WKU trailed the Salukis, 21-19, late. A kill by Bodway knotted the match at 21 and the two teams traded blows the rest of the match as an SIU attack error allowed the Lady Toppers to capture both the set, 25-23, and the match 3-1.
WKU outhit SIU on the contest as the Lady Toppers finished with a .276 hitting percentage led four different players who finished with double-digit kills.
Langenkamp paced the Lady Toppers as the veteran middle hitter finished with 15 off a team-best .371 hitting percentage. Cavanaugh finished with 14 kills while Bodway and Engle chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
Sophomore setter Jessica Lucas finished with a double-double of 47 assists and 16 digs while also adding five kills. O'Connell paced the Lady Tops with a season-high 23 digs just two shy of her career-best of 25.
WKU 0, Dayton 3
WKU closed the invitational on a sour note as the Lady Toppers picked up their first defeat of the year after dropped a three-set contest to Dayton (23-25, 19-25, 27-25).
Down 2-0 on the match, WKU battled throughout the third stanza as the Lady Toppers tried to extend the match into a fourth set.
Knotted at 20 late in the set, the two teams exchanged blows the rest of the way until consecutive points by the Flyers allowed for Dayton to claim the set, 27-25, and the match, 3-0.
Cavanaugh finished with a team-high 10 kills while freshman Rachel Anderson matched a career-best with nine kills off a team-high .300 hitting clip.
The Flyers outhit the Lady Tops, .203 to .142, and controlled the nets up front; registering 11 total blocks compared to WKU's six.
O'Connell led the way defensively finishing with 19 digs while Lucas earned another double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs to go along with six kills.
Overall, WKU finished the Saluki Invitational with a 2-1 record as the Lady Tops swept UT Martin Friday afternoon.
No. 20 WKU (5-1) returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 8, as the Lady Toppers open up their home schedule with a contest against Austin Peay slated for 7 p.m. CT at E.A. Diddle Arena.
