BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU volleyball rebounded from its first defeat on the year in fine fashion Tuesday evening as the Lady Toppers opened its home schedule with a sweep of Austin Peay (25-13, 25-14, 25-17) in E.A. Diddle Arena.
Three Lady Tops paced WKU offensively led by senior Haley Bodway's 12-kill performance. Bodway committed just three errors on 22 attacks as the veteran finished with a .409 hitting clip.
Freshman Rachel Anderson made an impressive debut to the WKU faithful as the middle hitter finished with career-bests of 11 kills and a .526 hitting percentage. Senior Noelle Langenkamp rounded out the group, finishing with 10 kills coupled with a team-best three total blocks, including a pair of solo efforts.
Celebrating her 18th birthday, freshman Taylor Dellinger also had an unforgettable debut in E.A. Diddle Arena Tuesday night.
Hailing from the state of Michigan, Dellinger received quite the surprise prior to the match as she was reunited with her father, Matt, who had just returned stateside after serving overseas for over a year.
Riding that emotionally wave, the rookie outside hitter needed just 10 attacks in order to tie a career-bests in both kills (5) and hitting percentage (.500).
Overall, WKU outhit APSU, .340 to .033, as the Lady Toppers held the Lady Govs offense in check throughout the match, finishing with a total of seven team blocks.
Setter Jessica Lucas tallied a match-high 35 assists to go along with seven digs and four kills. Junior Georgia O'Connell once again notched a double-digit dig count, finishing with a team-high 10 on the evening.
Head coach Travis Hudson, who was honored prior to first serve for earning his 500th career victory earlier in the season, improves his record in home openers to 16-5, including a current run of five-consecutive victories.
WKU (6-1) continues its home stretch this weekend as the Lady Toppers are set to host the 2015 Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Tops first match will be on Friday, Sept. 11, against Missouri State at 1 p.m. CT. WKU will be back in action against Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern for a nightcap Friday starting at 7 p.m. CT.
How to follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU.
