Matthews Named MVP After Tops Win Holiday Inn - University Plaza Invite

Saturday, September 14

Bowling Green, Ky.

6 p.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

9-1

Tulane

8-3

Tulane

WKU

Matthews Named MVP After Tops Win Holiday Inn - University Plaza Invite

9/14/2019 10:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Interviews: Hudson | Kael

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Volleyball extended its win streak to five-straight matches after going undefeated in its Holiday Inn – University Plaza Invite this weekend, which concluded with the Lady Toppers claiming a four-set decision over Tulane. Lauren Matthews was named the Tournament MVP and Logan Kael joined her on the All-Tournament Team.

"We know Tulane is one of the better defensive teams in the country," head coach Travis Hudson opened. "We knew it was going to be that kind of defensive game. Jim Barnes is one of the best tacticians in-game that I've ever coached against – they make a lot of adjustments in game to take things away from you. We knew we were going to have to continue to make adjustments as we moved along. We did that and did just enough to find a way to win this thing."

With the win over Tulane, a finalist in last season's NIVC, the Red and White now sit at 9-1 on the 2019 campaign. Following a 2-1 weekend during their visit on The Hill, the Green Wave moved to 8-3 overall.

"What a weekend for our team," Hudson continued. "This was a high-quality tournament and these were three high quality wins on our resumé."

WKU scored the first two points of the night before Tulane battled back and knotted the score after the first six points. From there, Paige Briggs found the floor for a kill to send Sophia Cerino back to the service line. Cerino would spend the next eight points as WKU jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never looked back. The Tops would lead by as many as 11 points at 21-10 before ultimately claiming the opening frame 25-16 over the Green Wave.

Tulane responded by jumping out to a 9-3 lead in the second frame before WKU battled back to pull within two at 13-11 on a block assist from Kayland Jackson and Lauren Matthews. A Cerino kill would make the score 14-12 before the lefty headed back to the service line and put the next five balls into play giving the Lady Toppers a 16-14 advantage. The Green Wave battled back and the sides would be tied at 21-21 before another Cerino kill would put WKU up for good. WKU scored four of the last five points to claim the 25-22 set two win.

Out of the break, Tulane jumped out to a quick 13-8 lead before WKU pulled within three at 15-12. From there, the Green Wave made another push to open up an 18-12 advantage and force a Lady Topper timeout. The benches traded the next four points before WKU strung together three-straight tallies to work back within three but Tulane would end up claiming the only set off the Red and White of the weekend with a 25-20 decision.

In the fourth and final frame, WKU would get out to a 10-8 lead before the Green Wave once again battled back and grabbed a 16-14 advantage. The Tulane lead wouldn't last long however, as Cerino once again served up a succession of tallies to work WKU out to a 20-16 lead. Following a timeout, Tulane pulled back within two but the Lady Toppers would once again score four of the last five points to secure the 25-20 match-clinching victory.

Paige Briggs notched her sixth double-double of the season and second of the weekend with a 10-kill, 19-dig showing. The freshman added three blocks and a pair of assists.

Matthews led WKU with 14 kills and a .256 hitting percentage in addition to a match-high eight blocks including a pair of solo stuffs.

Nadia Dieudonne facilitated the Lady Topper offense to a .215 rate with 41 assists to go along with nine digs, five kills and two blocks.

WKU out-hit the Green Wave .215 - .120 while out-digging the visitors 60-60.

Kael racked up 17 digs for her eighth double-digit dig output of the season.

Cerino was a difference maker for the Tops from the service line, putting 27 balls into play across the four-set match. The senior struck for four aces in addition to adding nine kills and a .250 hitting clip.

The WKU squad has now won two of the three tournaments it has competed in after claiming the Toledo Blue & Gold Tournament crown on opening weekend.

LOGAN KAEL ON PLAYING IN DIDDLE ARENA:
"Oh my gosh, Diddle Arena is awesome! I literally want to tear up every time I come in here. It's really awesome to play in this atmosphere and just be a part of this team."

NEXT TIME OUT:
WKU will head to Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday to visit Belmont. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. CT.

How to Follow WKU Volleyball: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.