"This was a big weekend of growth for our team," head coach Travis Hudson opened. "This is a long road trip on top of facing a great opponent today. I'm very proud of our kids."
With the 2-0 Texas trip, the Lady Toppers are now 16-9 on the season and 7-3 in Conference USA matchups. UTSA moved to 16-7 with the loss and is now 8-3 in league meetings.
WKU Volleyball had an answer for every UTSA run in the opening set of action in San Antonio on Sunday. After the Roadrunners got on the board first with a 2-0 lead, the Lady Toppers would even things up and hit double digits first with a 10-8 lead. Trailing 14-12 at one point, WKU registered a 6-0 run to put the frame out of reach. The Red and White closed the set on a 13-5 run. While WKU had just nine kills, the squad found points with four blocks and a trio of aces.
Down 8-6 early on in set two, WKU responded with a 5-0 run for an 11-8 lead while forcing a UTSA timeout. Anderson soon struck for back-to-back kills giving WKU a 15-10 advantage to force the Roadrunners' second timeout of the frame. From there play stayed relatively even between the sides as WKU grabbed the second-set victory with a 25-17 win for a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, WKU was again the first to double digits with an 11-8 lead, however the hosts would mount a late surge to take the frame 25-22. WKU fended off three-straight set points before UTSA could close the door on the frame though.
After back-to-back kills from Cerino, WKU was the first to double digits in the final set with a 10-8 lead. Hallie Shelton's fourth ace of the match gave the visitors a 14-11 advantage but UTSA responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead and force a WKU timeout. The Red and White came back scoring six of the next 10 tallies for a slim 20-19 lead. While the Roadrunners led 22-21 and 23-22, WKU registered the match's final three points with back-to-back Anderson kills before Kayland Jackson found the floor for the 25-23 fourth-set victory. WKU notched a match-best 17 kills in the final set.
Anderson turned in 19 kills on 37 attacks for a .432 hitting percentage in addition to five blocks, two digs and two aces in an all-around effort. Cerino worked at an efficient .520 rate with 14 kills on 25 swings while also adding two digs and a block.
Katie Isenbarger chipped in seven kills and a .333 hitting clip on top of a pair of blocks at the net.
Three Lady Topper defensive specialists posted double-digit digs in the outing led by Payton Frederick's 16. Shelton and Darby Music each added 10. Emma Kowalkowski chipped in eight digs.
Facilitating the offense from start to finish, Taylor Bebout recorded 45 assists, four kills and three digs in WKU's second-straight win.
Collectively, the WKU offense operated at a .290 rating while tallying 54 kills.
NEXT UP:
Following its weekend in Texas, WKU Volleyball returns home for its final weekend on The Hill of the 2018 campaign. FIU comes to town for a Friday night tilt before the Lady Toppers honor seniors Rachel Anderson and Mary Martin at Sunday's noon CT match against Florida Atlantic.
TOPPER NOTES:
- WKU Volleyball now leads the all-time series against the Roadrunners 6-1 after this afternoon's victory in San Antonio.
- Hallie Shelton racked up four aces in the match to tie her career high.
- At the net, WKU collected 10 blocks marking the team's fifth double-digit effort of the season.
- Rachel Anderson posted 19 kills, marking her second 17-kill match of the road trip.
- Sophia Cerino notched 14 kills on an efficient .520 hitting percentage. The junior now owns 11 double-digit kill performances on the season and two on the team's Texas road trip.
- Three Lady Topper defensive specialists posted double-digit digs in the outing led by Payton Frederick's 16. Shelton and Darby Music each added 10. The last time three or more WKU players recorded double-digit digs was a five-set victory over Charlotte on Sept. 23, 2018. Every player that saw action for WKU recorded a dig in the victory at UTSA.
- Run of the match: A 13-5 run to close the first set. Trailing 14-12 in the middle of the opening frame, WKU responded with a 6-0 run before ultimately closing the set on the 13-5 run.
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.
