"I talked to our team pregame about setting a really good tempo, I think our team did a good job at that today", noted head coach Travis Hudson. "I think our serving again did it for us."
WKU finished the day with a hitting percentage of .440 picking up 44 kills off 75 total attacks. The .440 clip is the highest for the Tops since defeating UAB back on September 23rd, where they racked up a .483 clip. In the second set, WKU held the Blue Raiders to just 11 points which was the fewest points allowed in a set in conference play this season for the Tops.
Lauren Matthews led the way for the Hilltoppers garnering a season-high 23 kills on 36 attacks for a .444 hitting clip. She also added 1.5 blocks and a dig for 24.5 points. Hudson gave high praise to the fifth year from Indianapolis "She's a special, special talent and it's good to see her playing her best volleyball at the end of the year."
Leading the Red and White for the third straight match on the service line, Sophomore Katie Howard led the team again in aces with four, picking up a season total of 36 for the Hilltoppers.
WKU 3, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0- 25-17, 25-11, 25-20
SET 1
Lauren Matthews sent the Blue Raiders chasing after one to get the first kill of the match, then MTSU answered with one of their own. Matthews grabbed two more kills to give the Tops a 3-1 advantage. Katie Howard recorded the second Hilltopper ace of the set to give WKU a 7-2 lead. A Paige Briggs kill and a Blue Raider error forced Middle to call time, trailing 9-3. MTSU scored three of the next five but the Tops responded with an Isenbarger kill inside the back right line, WKU leading 12-6. The Hilltoppers 10th kill of the frame forced the Blue Raiders into another timeout with an eight-point margin. Katie Isenbarger shot one just behind the first line of Raider defense to give the Tops a 20-11 edge. An errant MTSU attack gave WKU set point, until the Blue Raiders stayed alive notching three more points but a long serve over the back line from the Blue Raider server ended the run and led WKU into their sweep.
SET 2
Kenadee Coyle and Lauren Matthews took the first two points of the frame with a pair of kills for a 2-0 lead. A pair of aces from Ashley Hood gave WKU a 5-0 and MTSU took time to slow the momentum for the Red and White. Out of an MTSU timeout, the Blue Raiders took the net two. WKU rolled off the next three, capped by an ace from Katie Howard, WKU leading in a 8-2 rally. A 4-1 Hilltopper run forced MTSU into another timeout with WKU at its largest lead of the set at eight, leading 13-5. The Blue Raiders took four of the next five to cut the lead to five until Katie Howard served up her third ace of the match to bring the lead back to eight. The ace from Howard sparked a 6-0 run giving the Tops a 23-10 lead. The Hilltoppers finished off the set on a 9-1 run, ending on an Abby Schaefer ace.
SET 3
Katie Isenbarger kicked off the third frame with an ace and the Blue Raiders responded with two points to take a 2-1 lead. Matthews dumped one right over the logo giving WKU the lead back at 3-2 advantage. Katie Howard recorded her fourth ace of the match to give the Tops a 6-3 advantage. The two alternated points with the Blue Raiders cutting the lead to one at 10-9. The Tops quickly rebutted with four straight to force a Middle Tennessee timeout. WKU continued the run out of the break with a kill from Katie Howard. MTSU burned their final time of the set following the kill with WKU now leading 15-9. An Isenbarger kill stopped a 3-1 MTSU run bringing the lead back to five. The back-and-forth trend continued from there, but a service error from Isenbarger saw the lead drop to three in WKU's favor. Matthews fired one cross-court, giving WKU match point 24-19. The Blue Raiders stopped the momentum briefly with a kill dropped in front of the Hilltopper backline, before a Blue Raider serve ended up hitting their side of the net.
UP NEXT
Homecoming on The Hill next week, WKU will stay home and will welcome UAB next Friday, October 28 and Louisiana Tech for Alumni Night on Saturday, October 29.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU used the lineup of Paige Briggs, Katie Howard, Lauren Matthews, Katie Isenbarger, Kenadee Coyle, Callie Bauer, and Abby Schaefer. This is the 22nd time this season Coach Hudson has used this combination.
- The Hilltoppers have become victorious over Middle Tennessee 21 consecutive times in the past decade, leading the series 57-16 overall.
- Leading the offensive attack, Lauren Matthews tallied 23 kills off of 36 attempts. Senior Paige Briggs collected nine kills operating at a .368 hitting clip.
- Leading the Tops on the service line through the last three, Katie Howard racked up four aces against the Blue Raiders. Now the outside hitter has 19 service aces in the past five matches and leads the team with 36 total on the season.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 21-2 and undefeated in C-USA play (9-0).
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 714-220 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 992-494.
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.
