CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Lauren Matthews struck for 23 kills and her third-straight 20-kill outing against Charlotte in Sunday's regular-season finale as No. 17 WKU Volleyball concluded its third-straight undefeated record in Conference USA play. WKU improved to 24-1 on the season and 12-0 in C-USA with the four-set win over the 49ers.
Matthews and Katie Isenbarger each registered five blocks. Kayland Jackson closed the match with double-digit kills at 10 while Isenbarger added nine, Avri Davis tallied eight and Paige Briggs posted seven.
The Hilltoppers outblocked the 49ers 11-6.
WKU's 12-0 record in league play across the 2021 campaign marks the eighth undefeated conference season in program history and fourth since joining C-USA. WKU is now 120-6 in conference play in the regular season since joining Conference USA.
The Hilltoppers closed the regular season with a 73-8 record by sets, sweeping 20 of 25 matches this year.
WKU is 66-2 across the 2021 calendar year and 79-4 across the last three seasons since the Hilltoppers six seniors have all been on The Hill. WKU improved to 24-1 on the season with Friday's win along with an 12-0 mark in Conference USA.
Since joining Conference USA prior to the 2014 season, WKU Volleyball has won seven of eight possible regular season titles and six of seven possible tournament championships. Combined, the Hilltoppers has claimed 13 of 15 possible volleyball championships.
WKU at CHARLOTTE – 21-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-15
Set 1
Charlotte became the first C-USA opponent to take a pair of sets off the Hilltoppers in the 2021 campaign by winning set one on Friday and again on Sunday against the Red and White. Despite WKU earning the opening point, the 49ers would turn in a quick 4-0 run and lead the rest of the way. The Hilltoppers fought back within two on a couple occasions late in the set, including at 21-19 thanks to a 4-0 run with Kelsey Brangers at the service line. Lauren Matthews tallied six kills in the frame while Avri Davis and Katie Isenbarger each tallied three.
Set 2
Charlotte would score the opening point in set two but the Hilltoppers would score the next two points, including an Ashley Hood ace for a 2-1 lead. Isenbarger's fifth kill of the day would push the Hilltoppers into double digits with a 10-8 lead. The 49ers would push ahead and own a 15-14 lead at the media timeout and stretch that out to 18-17. From there, WKU took a 19-18 lead before Charlotte knotted it back up. A 4-0 run off Isenbarger's serve gave the Tops a 23-19 lead before the 49ers tallied their final point of the frame. A kill from Jackson and ace from Hood would close the set at 25-20.
Set 3
WKU struck first out of the long break and Hood's fourth ace of the match would give the Tops a 4-1 advantage. From there, the Hilltoppers pushed out to a 9-6 lead and then a 5-0 run would make it 14-8 in favor of the visitors. WKU used a 4-0 run to close the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match as Briggs struck for back-to-back aces to end the frame. The Hilltoppers worked at a .333 clip in the set while striking for 18 kills with 10 from Matthews alone. Defensively, WKU held Charlotte to a .111 efficiency in the frame with Briggs racking up 10 of the Tops' 23 digs.
Set 4
Hallie Shelton opened set four with an ace and a few points later Charlotte would tie the score at 3-3 for the lone tie of the set. Briggs struck for a kill to put WKU ahead 4-3 and the Hilltoppers never looked back. The Red and White pushed all the way out to a 15-6 advantage and would stretch that to a 20-8 margin. The 49ers fought back before WKU secured the 25-15 victory for the four-set victory. The Tops operated at a scorching .588 hitting clip in the set and tallied five combined blocks.
Nadia Dieudonne turned in her second-consecutive match with 50 or more assists, finishing with 51 helpers in the regular-season finale. She added six digs, three blocks and two kills while facilitating the Hilltoppers to a .328 hitting clip.
Hood would finish with a career-high five aces to go along with 10 digs. Briggs turned in a season-best 22 digs, one shy of her career high, which was set in a five-set outing.
NEXT UP
Conference USA will announce the 2021 C-USA Tournament bracket later Sunday afternoon once all regular-season matches are complete. Postseason play will be hosted by Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., from Nov. 19-21.
POST-MATCH NOTES
· WKU used the lineup of Paige Briggs, Avri Davis, Lauren Matthews, Katie Isenbarger, Kayland Jackson, Nadia Dieudonne and Logan Kael at libero for the ninth time this season. This was the Hilltopper lineup to start the season and the group owns a 7-1 record.
· WKU leads all-time series against Charlotte, 18-3 with Sunday's win.
· With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 24-1 (12-0 C-USA) on the season.
· The Tops' NCAA-best conference win streak is up to 45 with Sunday's victory, continuing to surpass the previous Conference USA record already held by WKU (38).
· Hallie Shelton struck for two more aces to bring her career total to 180, which ties her for second on the Tops' all-time list.
· With the day's results, head coach Travis Hudson is now 689-217 across his career.
· WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 967-492 with Sunday's win.
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.
