ST. LOUIS -- In a contest that saw 25 ties and 13 lead changes, WKU suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Cal Poly in a four-set battle Friday afternoon. The Lady Toppers were unable to gain much traction down the stretch against the Mustangs in the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic opener. Both Sydney Engle and Mary Martin produced double-double efforts for WKU in the loss that saw two-time All-American Jessica Lucas remain on the bench.
After going down 0-2 to open the first set, the Lady Toppers battled back and forth with the Cal Poly Mustangs to open play at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic. WKU took as much as a 16-13 lead before the Mustangs fought back to knot the contest at 18-18. Head coach Travis Hudson opted for a timeout up 19-18 and claimed the next four points to take a 23-18 lead. Cal Poly attempted a comeback but a kill by Engle put the final touch on the 25-21 first-set victory.
WKU worked hard to keep up in the second set against Cal Poly, but trailed for the majority of the frame, knotting the contest just twice early on. The Lady Toppers mounted a late comeback, scoring four-straight points to pull within 20-23 and force the Mustangs to call their final timeout. A Rachel Anderson kill put WKU within two at 22-24 but Cal Poly finished the set on the next point.
Set three saw 12 ties and six different lead changes between the Lady Toppers and Mustangs. WKU owned a lead in the set as late as 15-14 but couldn't finish it, falling 25-21 in the frame. Engle's 10th kill of the afternoon pulled the Lady Toppers within 21-24 but the Mustangs claimed the 25-21 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The final set of the day saw just one tie at 1-1 before the Mustangs put the frame out of reach. WKU used its final timeout down 5-13 but was unable to gain any momentum coming out of the final stoppage. Cal Poly claimed the set with a 25-8 victory and ultimately won the match 3-1 over the Lady Toppers. The last time that WKU was held to single digits in a set was at Alabama during the 2008 campaign.
Martin got the start for the Lady Toppers and had a career day. The WKU sophomore registered a double-double effort with 48 assists combined with 10 digs. Martin also added two blocks and a pair of kills.
A trio of WKU attackers recorded double-digit kills in the loss. Anderson finished with 16 kills on the day in addition to a solo block and a pair of block assists. Engle added 12 of the Lady Topper's 53 kills and paired them with 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. Alyssa Cavanaugh was the third WKU player with kills in the double digits at 12.
Coach Hudson and company will look to start a new streak with a pair of contests on Saturday's slate. WKU opens the day with a match against Saint Louis scheduled for a noon start, followed by a contest against Arkansas State at 4:30 p.m. CT.
