"Today was a frustrating day for us," head coach Travis Hudson opened. "For the first time all year I did not like the level we competed at. We had some good opportunities across today's matches and didn't take advantage of them. We simply make too many mistakes right now to give ourselves a chance against high-level opponents."
Senior Rachel Anderson was named to the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic All-Tournament Team with a scorching weekend hitting percentage of .533.
MATCH 6: WKU 0, [RV] MARQUETTE 3 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22)
WKU's first set of the day was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish, as both sides traded run for run. All tied up at 22-22 down the stretch following a Katie Isenbarger kill, Marquette rallied and finished the frame on a 3-0 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Marquette flew out of the gate in set two, opening a 6-0 lead and pushing it ahead to 10-2 and 15-7 before WKU was able to get things going. At that point, the Lady Toppers strung together a 3-0 run to pull back within five and stuck around for the remainder of the set but ultimately fell 25-18 as the Golden Eagles took a 2-0 advantage in the match. The Red and White's offense found the floor for 13 kills and a .241 hitting rate in the frame.
Tied at 5-5 out of the break, Marquette put together a 6-0 run to push ahead of the Lady Toppers in the third set. Trailing 13-7, WKU tallied the next three points to cut its deficit in half. Back within two at 22-20 thanks to a Anderson kill, Marquette picked up two crucial points before WKU fended off match point twice on a Isenbarger kill and Darby Music ace before the Golden Eagles shut the door on the 25-22 third set.
Sophia Cerino led WKU with nine kills in the match – her first time leading the Lady Toppers in the category. WKU worked at a .161 offensive clip with setting duties shared by Taylor Bebout and Mary Martin again. Bebout notched her first collegiate double double with 23 assists and 10 digs.
MATCH 7: WKU 1, KANSAS STATE 3 (25-18, 25-22, 26-28, 25-17)
Kansas State jumped out to an early advantage in the first set against the Red and White but WKU hung around and challenged the Wildcats. Out to an 18-9 lead at one point, WKU strung together a 4-0 run to force a KSU timeout. Out of the break WKU pulled within 19-15 but the Wildcats closed things out with the 25-18 first set win.
Second set action open with the Lady Toppers hitting double digits first at 10-5 but the Wildcats hung around. KSU used a 4-0 run late in the frame to take the lead for good at 22-20. Kansas State went on to take a 2-0 match with the 25-22 victory.
Set three saw a total of 12 ties and five lead changes between the sides as WKU managed to avoid the sweep, claiming the set 28-26 after fending off two match points for the Wildcats. The Lady Toppers put up 19 kills in the frame led by Isenbarger's seven and five more from Kayland Jackson.
In the final set against KSU, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead that WKU could never recover from. Kansas State worked ahead to a quick 16-8 advantage before WKU would ultimately hang with the Wildcats as both squads tallied nine points the rest of the way.
Three Lady Toppers recorded double-digit kills as Isenbarger led the way with 13, followed by Anderson and Jackson each at 11.
Defensively, four Lady Toppers racked up double-digit dig efforts with Payton Frederick leading the charge with 16. Hallie Shelton and Bebout each registered 12 while Emma Kowalkowski added 11.
The Lady Toppers out-killed the Wildcats 55-51 and out-dug them 66-54.
Bebout and Martin shared offensive-facilitating duties, as WKU worked at a .192 clip. Bebout recorded 31 assists for her second double double of the day while Martin added six helpers.
NEXT UP:
With six of the squad's first seven matches on the road to open the 2018 season, WKU Volleyball will now return to The Hill where it will play its next nine matches. The Lady Toppers will host two weekend tournaments, a midweek matchup with Cincinnati and two Conference USA tilts (Middle Tennessee and Charlotte) before leaving Diddle Arena to play again.
TOPPER NOTES:
- WKU is now 1-2 all-time against Marquette with the Golden Eagles claiming the past two matchups.
- The Lady Toppers are now 0-1 against Kansas State with the first meeting in program history in the books.
- Run of the day: A 7-1 run in set three against Kansas State starting at 15-12. With KSU looking to sweep the match, WKU responded out of a timeout to push ahead to a 19-16 advantage and avoid the sweep, ultimately claiming the set 28-26.
- Redshirt-freshman Taylor Bebout registered 23 assists and 10 digs in WKU's loss to [RV] Marquette – her first collegiate double-double performance and WKU's second of the season. She added her second career double-double in the weekend finale with 31 assists and 12 digs against Kansas State.
- The last time three WKU hitters notched double-digit kills was the Second Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
- With four Lady Toppers recording double-digit digs, the last time the feat was accomplished was the 2017 season against Dayton. WKU achieved the feat twice last season (also against Miami (OH)).
- The last time WKU suffered two losses by 3-0 scores was the 2015 season, a year the squad went 32-4 overall and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. The last time WKU suffered two 3-0 losses before conference play started was the 2014 campaign (three 3-0 losses before C-USA play started).
- Rachel Anderson earned All-Tournament Team honors for the second-straight weekend.
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.
