OXFORD, Ohio – With its third win in less than 24 hours, WKU Volleyball took home the Miami (OH) Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational crown as the Lady Toppers swept Northern Arizona to close opening weekend play. The Lady Toppers saw Rachel Anderson lead the charge offensively with 16 kills while Emma Kowalkowski racked up a career-high 19 digs defensively.
Sydney Engle took home Tournament MVP honors while Anderson and Jessica Lucas were also named to the weekend All-Tournament Team.
"This was a great opening weekend showing by our kids," head coach Travis Hudson stated. "We have a lot to work on as we move forward but it's nice to find a way to start the season 3-0."
WKU's weekend sweep marks the third-straight season the Lady Toppers have opened the year at 3-0. Hudson has now seen 10 of his 23 teams complete the feat. The only other time a WKU squad has started the year 3-0 was in the program's second year, 1982, under Charlie Daniel.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Fri. Aug. 25 – vs. Southern Illinois | W, 3-0 | Stats
Fri. Aug. 25 –at Miami (OH) | W, 3-1 | Stats
Sat. Aug. 26 –vs. Northern Arizona | W, 3-0 | Stats
The Lady Toppers wasted no time getting things going Saturday morning and shot out to a 16-5 lead in the first set of the day over Northern Arizona. Up 18-8, WKU had posted 13 kills on 18 attacks without an error for a .722 hitting percentage before finishing the set at a .531 clip. Eight different Lady Toppers registered a kill in the frame for a collective 19 strikes. NAU tried to fight back but the Red and White closed the first set with a 25-16 final score.
Things looked complete different in the second frame of action as neither side ever strung together more than three-straight points. Northern Arizona led by two as late as 16-14 and hit 20 first but the Lady Toppers finished strong, booking six of the final eight points in the set. Anderson paced the Red and White with five kills for the second-straight frame as WKU took a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-22 victory.
Action in the final set opened with both teams trading points until Northern Arizona finally took a slim 7-5 lead over WKU but the Lady Toppers fired back, claiming the next three points capped by a Sophia Cerino service ace. The sides once again traded points to the 11-11 stage when Hudson's squad separated itself for good. Anderson finished with six of the Lady Toppers' 17 kills in the frame as WKU clinched the sweep with a 25-21 third-set win.
For the second-consecutive match, Anderson posted double-digit kills and led the team in that column. The junior notched a season-high 16 strikes on 34 swings for a .324 hitting percentage while also contributing three blocks and three digs. Alyssa Cavanaugh recorded eight kills to go along with four digs.
Senior Sydney Engle finished the day with seven kills on 17 swings for a .353 hitting percentage in addition to five digs and a pair of assists.
Facilitating the offense to a .304 hitting percentage, Lucas tallied 37 assists across the morning sweep. The senior added nine digs, five kills, two blocks and an ace to fill the stat sheet. Through three matches, Lucas is averaging a double double at 35.3 assists/match and 10 digs/match.
Kowalkowski and Lucas led the team in digs with 19 and nine, respectively, while 10 different Lady Toppers tallied at least one.
WKU Volleyball is in action again Tuesday night for its home opener against Tennessee State at 6 p.m. CT from Diddle Arena. TSU is coming off of a 17-16 2016 campaign. The Lady Toppers own a 20-1 advantage in the all-time series.
With the home opener up next, volleyball season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by calling the WKU ticket office at 1-800-5-BIGRED. Season ticket holders will receive 12 general admission tickets with the Flexible Ticket Package that can be used to attend the home games of his or her choice. This plan allows the flexibility to choose which volleyball games the buyer wants to attend and the number of tickets used for each game. Season ticket holders also gain exclusive access to pre-game chalk talks with Hudson, who enters his 23rd season at the helm of WKU volleyball.
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
