After a slow start to open their first frame of action in Louisville, WKU Volleyball fell 25-21 to Arizona State despite several attempts at a late rally. The Red and White trailed by as much as 19-13 before pulling all the way back within two at 23-21. Sophia Cerino tallied four of WKU's 12 kills as the team worked at a .132 clip.
Nadia Dieudonne neared double-double territory after just one set with eight assists and eight digs before breaking into double digits in both categories in the second frame. The Louisville native would finish with her second double double of the season, posting 39 assists and 17 digs.
Trailing 18-10 in the second set after Arizona State grabbed the next point out of WKU's second called timeout of the frame, the Lady Toppers went on an eight-point run to knot the set at 20-20. Arizona State's final lead of the frame came at 21-20 before the Red and White rattled off five quick points to steal the set. Finishing with a 15-4 run, Kayland Jackson led the Tops with four kills during that stretch. As a team, WKU tallied three blocks during the run while Cerino added three aces.
Arizona State opened the third set with a quick 5-1 lead before the Red and White evened things up at 5-5. However, ASU would once again jump out to a big lead, taking an 18-9 lead before the Lady Toppers would piece together an 8-1 run to pull back within two at 19-17. Following a Sun Devil timeout, Dieudonne delivered her fifth kill of the match and three points later the set was even at 20-20. Another kill by Dieudonne and a couple by Paige Briggs along with an ace by Logan Kael helped the Tops secure the third set after posting an 18-7 run to close it.
With a 2-1 lead in the contest, set four saw the Red and White reach double-digits first for the first time of the match. Soon after, WKU owned a 13-8 advantage following back-to-back kills from Cerino and Katie Isenbarger to force an ASU timeout. With Cerino back serving, WKU pushed ahead to a 17-11 lead after the senior's eighth ace of the match. The fourth set would ultimately be the largest margin of victory in the match as WKU claimed in 25-18 to open the weekend in Louisville 1-0.
Three Lady Toppers finished with double-digit kills as Lauren Matthews struck for 12 while Cerino and Jackson each added 11. WKU finished with 54 kills as a team while working at a .230 offensive clip and limiting Arizona State to a .189 rate.
WKU's defense was led by Kael's 18 digs, marking the second time the junior transfer has led the squad. Dieudonne (17) and Briggs (10) both also hit double-digits in the category.
From the service line, WKU tallied nine aces with eight coming off the hand of Cerino – the third-most all-time in a single match by a Lady Topper.
At the net, WKU out-blocked Arizona State 11-5 for the Tops' first double-digit effort of the season. Matthews led the charge with eight – a new career high for the sophomore.
MATCH NOTES:
- WKU Volleyball is now 2-0 all-time against Arizona State and 3-6 all-time against Pac-12 programs (3-3 in last six meetings).
- The Lady Toppers improved to 4-0 to start the season for the ninth time under Travis Hudson. WKU has won a regular-season or tournament championship all eight previous seasons with such a start.
- Nadia Dieudonne recorded her second double-double showing of the season with 39 assists and 17 digs.
- Sophia Cerino registered eight service aces – one shy of the WKU single-match record shared by Cindy Hudson (1991) and Beaven Hill (2000). Cerino ties Teresa Harrison and Michelle Mingus for third-most after the pair each recorded eight aces at EKU on Sept. 4, 1990.
