WKU Throws Block Party, Takes Down ETSU & Pitt On First Day Of Tournament

Friday, September 8

Bowling Green, Ky.

11 a.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

7-2

East Tennessee State

2-5

ETSU

WKU

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

WKU Throws Block Party, Takes Down ETSU & Pitt On First Day Of Tournament

9/8/2017 4:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 WKU 3, ETSU 1 - Box Score (PDF)WKU 3, Pitt 2 - Box Score (PDF)

Hudson Interview

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Volleyball found its stride from Diddle Arena on Friday as WKU saw Alyssa Cavanaugh notch 41 combined kills and the team registered an NCAA-season best 22 team blocks in a five set thriller with Pittsburgh. The Lady Toppers opened their day with a battle against East Tennessee State that ended with a 3-1 weekend-opening victory before closing the evening with another five-set fight with Pittsburgh that saw a Conference USA modern-scoring-era record 22 blocks.

"What a fun night," head coach Travis Hudson said. "I've been waiting for our kids to just break out and compete. I think we've been playing with a lot of weight on our shoulders and trying to live up to the expectations of the preseason. I'm glad that we just went out and played, and I'm really proud of the effort that we put out there today."

Cavanaugh led the Red and White with 22 kills in the first match and 19 more in round two. Amara Listenbee (10), Rachel Anderson (10) and Sydney Engle (8) all set new blocking career highs. WKU Volleyball is now 8-2 on the season and its win over the ACC foe marks the seventh win over a Power 5 opponent since the start of 2014.

"Alyssa and I spent some time together this week trying to get her back to just playing for the love of the game," stated Hudson. "She's a kid that has a lot of pressure on her, and with the year that she had last year it's almost impossible to live up to what she did a year ago. I told her don't try to live up to what she did last year and to embrace every second of her senior year. Tonight I thought she was really, really good."

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Friday – WKU vs. ETSU – W, 3-1
Friday – Saint Louis vs. Pitt – Pitt W, 3-0
Friday – WKU vs. Pitt – W, 3-2
Saturday – Saint Louis vs. ETSU – 11 a.m. CT | Free Admission | Stats
Saturday – ETSU vs. Pitt – 3 p.m. CT | Free Admission | Stats
Saturday – WKU vs. Saint Louis – 5 p.m. CT | Stats | Stream

MATCH 1: WKU 3, ETSU 1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13)

Holiday Inn University Plaza Hotel Invitational action opened Friday morning on The Hill with Alyssa Cavanaugh dropping three kills within WKU's first four points of the match. The Lady Toppers pushed out to a 7-3 lead after a Taylor Dellinger block and the lead then grew to 11-6 on a Jessica Lucas kill to force an ETSU timeout. Cavanaugh struck again out of the stop before the Bucs tallied the next three points. The sides traded points to make the score 15-12 when WKU called a timeout and went on to extend the advantage to 17-12. ETSU hung close but WKU would shut the frame with a Sophia Cerino ace to take the set 25-20. Cavanaugh notched six kills on six swings in the frame as the Lady Toppers hit a collective .458 mark.

ETSU came back strong in set two and ultimately evened the match up at 1-1 after the 25-21 victory. After WKU opened the frame with a Sydney Engle kill, the Bucs went on to score the next four points to take a lead that would never trade. The Lady Toppers pulled within a point on multiple occasions through the heart of the match and trailed by just two at 19-21 but the visitors notched four of the final six points to take the second set.

Third set play again opened with a Cavanaugh kill, the first of seven in the frame for the senior. In a set that ultimately saw four ties and two lead changes, ETSU led most of the way. Trailing 14-18 with the frame closing quickly, WKU strung together 10-straight points off the serve of Engle, which opened with an ace. Cavanaugh accounted for three kills during the streak including back-to-back strikes to make the score 18-18 and 19-18. ETSU called for a stop down 21-18, which was sandwiched between a pair of Cavanaugh and Amara Listenbee block assists. The Bucs finally got a side out on WKU's first set point to make the score 24-19 but Cavanaugh registered her seventh kill of the frame to turn the page.

WKU Volleyball came out of the break still with the momentum from its third set comeback and went back to work. Cavanaugh got things going with a kill as the Red and White jumped ahead to a 7-3 lead to force ETSU to call for a stop. The Bucs were able to pull back within two at 7-5 but the Lady Toppers went on to score 10 of the next 14 points as ETSU called its second timeout at 17-9. Cavanaugh's 22^nd kill of the match doubled WKU's score over ETSU's and the Lady Toppers never turned back, claiming the final frame 25-13.

The Lady Toppers finished with a team hitting percentage of .322 with 56 kills. Cavanaugh led the way with 22 kills on 38 swings for a .526 clip while Rachel Anderson tacked on nine kills and four blocks of her own. Engle notched six kills and a team-high 11 digs while Cerino recorded five kills, two aces and two blocks in the contest.

Lucas put up her third double-double outing of the season in the match, posting 44 assists, 10 digs, seven kills, two blocks and two aces to fill the score sheet.

Three Lady Toppers registered four blocks including Anderson, Cavanaugh and Listenbee. Engle added a pair of assist stops and Dellinger recorded the Red and White's lone solo block of the match. WKU finished with a season-best 10 team blocks.

MATCH 2: WKU 3, PITT 2 (23-25, 25-14, 25-22, 26-24, 15-10)

In their second match of the day, the Lady Toppers dropped just their second opening set of the season in a 25-23 fashion. The Panthers held the Red and White to a .154 offensive clip and 54% sideout rating. Anderson and Cavanaugh each tallied three kills in the frame. Pitt had its first of three 13-kill sets to open the match with a 1-0 lead.

Set two saw WKU turn the page and fire right back to even the match. The Lady Toppers registered a stifling eight team blocks in the frame to limit the Panthers to a -.026 hitting clip with 10 errors and nine kills. WKU claimed the second round of the match in a demanding 25-14 fashion and saw Listenbee tally a solo block to go along with five block assists.

Following the long intermission, WKU kept its foot on the gas to turn the tables and take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Red and White were able to hit a collective .280 in the set as Cavanaugh registered four kills and Dellinger added three. WKU added six more team blocks in the frame.

Pitt was determined to extend the match the distance and evened things back up with a slim fourth-set victory of 26-24. Despite the Lady Toppers hitting at a .242 rate to the Panthers' .194 clip, Pitt sent the match to a decisive fifth set, just like the first meeting between the sides.

By the fifth frame, WKU Volleyball had found the right pieces and was firing on all cylinders. The Lady Toppers fired a .500 hitting percentage in the frame with eight team kills on 16 swings while notching an 81% sideout rate. Cavanaugh came on strong again with four kills on five attacks in the set. The sides traded the first six points before WKU pulled ahead to a lead it would not relinquish. Pitt called for stops trailing 7-4 and 9-5 but could not find an answer for the Lady Toppers. WKU tallied five of the last seven points of the match to close the night with a 15-10 fifth-set win.

Every Lady Topper that saw time in the front row of the match tallied at least one block with four players recording a minimum of four. WKU finished with four solo stuffs on the night to go along with 36 block assists.

"We inserted Amara Listenbee in the lineup and she was big for us from a defensive standpoint," Hudson shared. "It's what you have to do: Pittsburgh is such a good team that you have to find a way to get stops, and we did that tonight."

In the back row, Emma Kowalkowski led WKU with 12 digs while Engle finished just behind her with 11. Darby Music chipped in six digs while Lucas and Hallie Shelton each added five.

Up front, behind Cavanaugh's 19 strikes, Anderson and Engle both converted on nine swings for kills. Dellinger posted eight kills while Lucas added five more.

Facilitating the WKU attacking, Lucas finished with 46 assists in the contest in addition to five digs and five blocks.

"It was awesome," Hudson said with a smile about the evening crowd. "It's a big win for our program and it's what you live for as a coach to have the fans into it like they were. The band and the students were into it and our team really fed off the atmosphere from them."

WKU will close Holiday Inn University Plaza Hotel Invitational action Saturday from Diddle Arena with a match against Saint Louis. First serve of the weekend's finale is slated for 5 p.m. CT.

This weekend will mark the last time the Lady Toppers will don the Red and White inside Diddle Arena for nearly three weeks with the next home match falling on Sept. 29.