WKU worked at a .274 offensive efficiency on the day in addition to out-blocking opponents 20-14.5. Lauren Matthews averaged 2.17 blocks per set while Katie Isenbarger tallied 1.00 stuffs per frame. Eight different Hilltoppers registered a block across the day.
Keeping with the defense, Kelsey Brangers led the Tops with 20 digs across the day - including a new career high 13 against Austin Peay.
From the service line, WKU racked up 13 aces on the day with five from Paige Briggs, four by Hallie Shelton and two each from Brangers and Ashley Hood.
WKU vs. Ohio – 25-19, 25-16, 25-19
Set 1
Early in set one, the Hilltoppers and Bobcats went back and forth until a 5-0 WKU run allowed the Tops to gain the lead, which it would hold the remainder of the set. An Isenbarger kill forced Ohio to take a timeout with the Tops leading 18-14. From there, a Briggs ace pushed the Tops to a 20-15 lead. From there, WKU and Ohio traded points and WKU closed out set one with a Lauren Matthews kill, her fourth of the set. The Red and White closed the frame with a .462 hitting clip.
Set 2
WKU jumped out to a 3-1 lead to begin set two aided by a pair of kills from Kayland Jackson and Matthews. A few points later, the Tops went on a 7-0 scoring run to create separation and open up a 14-6 lead, capped off by a Brangers ace. The Bobcats responded with a couple points but a pair of Hilltopper kills forced the Bobcats to burn a timeout as the Tops doubled up Ohio at 16-8. The Hilltopper lead grew to 10 following a Briggs kill at 20-10. From there, a Matthews kill gave WKU the 24-16 advantage before the Tops closed the frame with a Jennifer Rush kill. The Hilltoppers held the Bobcats to a hit percentage of .000 in set two.
Set 3
A back and forth contest in the early going of the set, the Tops began to separate themselves from the Bobcats as play continued. WKU's lead stretched to four and forced Ohio to call a timeout at 17-13. An ace by Briggs gave the Tops a 22-18 lead. The set concluded with a 3-0 Hilltopper run capped off by a Shelton ace to secure the 25-19 set three win.
Eight different Hilltoppers recorded a kill with Matthews leading the way with nine. Jackson and Isenbarger each added seven kills while both working at .400 or above as well.
Briggs matched her career high of four aces in the afternoon contest in addition to a perfect serve-receive rate across 21 attempts.
WKU racked up 11 blocks in the match including four solo and four block assists from Matthews. Jackson also added four block assists to help hold the Bobcats to a .111 hitting mark.
WKU vs. Austin Peay – 25-18, 25-16, 25-23
Set 1
Through the first 10 points of the set neither team would take more than a two point lead. The Hilltoppers would then go on a 3-0 run to push their lead to 11-8. With strong hitting from Matthews and Briggs, the Tops extended the lead to 14-9 forcing an Austin Peay timeout. Behind an ace from Shelton and multiple kills from Matthews, the Red and White went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 18-9. WKU would never look back, winning the set 25-18.
Set 2
The Tops jumped out to an early 8-3 lead forcing an Austin Peay timeout to open second-set action. Hood led the charge for the Tops with strong serving including an ace. APSU scored two quick points out of the break to cut the lead to 9-5 but kills from Briggs and Matthews extended the lead to 14-7. The Tops continued its push behind multiple Austin Peay errors, leading by as many as 10 points before the Governors called a timeout. Austin Peay was able to cut the deficit to 19-15 until a Matthews kill ended the threat. WKU's strong defense, including blocks by Kenadee Coyle and Matthews, helped to extend the lead to 24-15. The final point of the set came on a kill by Matthews assisted by Taylor Bebout.
Set 3
Austin Peay opened the final frame leading 5-3 until WKU used a 4-0 run behind strong serving from Brangers to turn the tables for a 7-5 lead. The Govs mounted a comeback and took a 14-8 lead before the Hilltoppers cut the lead to 15-12. The strong serving continued for the Tops with Hood at the service line piecing together a 5-0 run to retake the lead at 17-16. APSU battled back and knotted the score at 21-21 but four kills from Isenbarger across the last six points proved too much for the Govs and secured the 25-23 win for the Tops.
Katie Howard hit .455 in the match for WKU with a new career high of seven kills while fellow freshman attacker Kenadee Coyle added two kills and a solo block in her first extended action for the Hilltoppers. Keeping with the freshmen, Brangers registered a career-high 14 digs.
Nadia Dieudonne racked up 32 assists to go along with nine digs, two kills and two blocks.
Matthews deposited 11 kills for her 10th double-digit kill match of the season while operating at a .348 clip and tallying five blocks. Isenbarger added nine kills while Briggs posted eight.
SCHEDULE
Friday, September 17 – No. 23 WKU def. Ohio, 3-0
Friday, September 17 – No. 23 WKU def. Austin Peay, 3-0
Saturday, September 18 – No. 23 WKU vs. St. John's - 1 p.m. CT
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers will close out weekend play in the WKU Volleyball Invite with a 1 p.m. CT contest against St. John's on Saturday from E.A. Diddle Arena.
Flexible season ticket packages are on sale now and include 13 vouchers that fans can use at any regular-season home match in whatever fashion they choose. Fans can opt for the traditional use of one ticket for all 13 home matches or bring a group to a few matches. Flexible ticket packages are available for $50 at WKUTickets.com, by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED or by coming to the WKU Ticket Office during regular business hours.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU kept with its new-look line up for both matches with Paige Briggs, Nadia Dieudonne, Lauren Matthews, Kayland Jackson, and Logan Kael, while keeping with the two new faces in Kelsey Brangers and Katie Howard.
- The Hilltoppers are now 4-3 all-time against Ohio and 33-12 all-time against Austin Peay.
- Lauren Matthews led the way for the Tops with 9 kills and 3 digs as well as 8 blocks against Ohio before firing off 11 kills and five more blocks against APSU.
- Kelsey Brangers turned in a new career-high of 14 digs against Austin Peay.
- With the wins, the Hilltoppers improve to 10-1 on the season and 8-0 in three-set matches.
- With the day's results, head coach Travis Hudson is now 675-217 across his career.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 955-492 with Friday's wins.
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.
