Hot-Hitting Lady Toppers Sweep Charlotte For 11th-Straight Win

Sunday, September 24

Charlotte, N.C.

Noon CT

Western Kentucky University

-152, 20 (CUSA)

Charlotte

-144, 11 (CUSA)

WKU

Charlotte

Hot-Hitting Lady Toppers Sweep Charlotte For 11th-Straight Win

9/24/2017 2:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score WKU 3, Charlotte 0 - Box Score (PDF)C-USA Stats

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the second-straight match, WKU Volleyball saw three Lady Toppers hit double-digit kills as the Red and White used its high-powered offense for a Conference USA road win at Charlotte. Led by Rachel Anderson's 20 kills while Sydney Engle added 13 and Alyssa Cavanaugh posted 12, WKU swept the Charlotte 49ers and now owns the league's longest winning streak at 11.

"This was a great win on the back end of a long weekend of travel for us," head coach Travis Hudson opened. "We really played well offensively today which helped us stay out in front most of the way."

The Lady Toppers are now 15-2 on the season with a 2-0 reading in Conference USA action. Dating back to Nov. 1, 2015, WKU Volleyball has won 27-consecutive matches against league opponents including regular season and tournament matchups. The streak ranks as the second-longest in C-USA history.

To open Sunday's match, Charlotte struck first and held an early 6-3 lead in the contest after a few Lady Topper errors. However, the lead didn't hold as WKU retaliated with an eight-point run off the serve of Jessica Lucas to open up an 11-6 advantage. The 49ers battled back within three points on numerous occasions in the frame, but the Red and White responded with another eight-point streak - including five-consecutive Anderson kills – to put the first set away. Despite Charlotte's early advantage, WKU used a 22-9 run down the stretch to take the first frame 25-15. Anderson led WKU with seven kills in the set while Engle added six. The Lady Toppers owned 20 kills in the set against just three errors for a .447 hitting efficiency.

Charlotte got on the board first again in the second set, owning a lead up to the 7-6 point before WKU muscled its way ahead with a 13-5 run to take a 20-13 lead. The 49ers battled back within three down the stretch before untimely errors and a Cavanaugh kill sealed the deal on the 25-20 second-set victory. Anderson and Cavanaugh each contributed six kills in the frame while WKU hit a match-best .467 with 16 combined kills against just two errors.

Coming out of intermission, WKU opened a 3-0 lead and never looked back. After an Emma Kowalkowski service ace gave the Lady Toppers a 5-1 lead, WKU pushed ahead to an 11-4 advantage to force a Charlotte timeout. While the 49ers managed to close the gap some, WKU maintained at least a two-point advantage the rest of the way. The Lady Toppers used a trio of late kills to finish off the sweep with a 25-20 third-set win. Engle added five more kills in the final set including the final point of the match. WKU worked at a .429 offensive rate with 17 kills against two errors again.

In addition to her 13 kills, Engle recorded a career-high .722 hitting percentage with zero errors on 18 attacks. The senior also recorded a team-best 12 digs to post her first double-double outing of the season.

Anderson registered a new season-high 20 kills in the outing, the third 20+ kill showing of her career. The junior worked at a .545 offensive rate, tallying just two attack errors on 33 swings while also adding two blocks and an ace.

With 12 kills on 19 attacks, Cavanaugh owned a .579 hitting clip on the match bringing the outside hitter's season mark up to a blistering .403 reading.

Lucas dished out 45 assists in the three-set match for an average of 15.0 assists per set. The setter helped the WKU offense to a .447 hitting percentage. Lucas added eight digs to go along with three kills, an ace and a block in the win.

Kowalkowski finished with her 11^th double-digit dig showing of the season, tallying 10. Darby Music finished with nine digs.

After a stretch of six matches on the road, WKU Volleyball will finally return to Diddle Arena Friday night as Louisiana Tech comes to town. First serve against the Lady Techsters is slated for 6 p.m. CT.