"We went out there and made a few more plays than they did out there", noted head coach Travis Hudson. "They [UAB] went out there and defended really well, made us work for it."
A lighter look for WKU in tonight's match, the Hilltoppers hit .288 collectively as a team, only sufficing eight blocks and three service aces from the line. Senior Paige Briggs garnered 15 kills on the outside to lead the Tops, while sophomore Katie Howard picked up two more aces to lead WKU in her fourth consecutive match.
WKU 3, UAB 0- 25-23, 25-22, 25-19
SET 1
The Blazers got the best of WKU with a duo block at the net off the attempted kill from Katie Howard to get the scoring going inside Diddle Arena Friday evening. In redemption, the Red and White scored four unanswered featuring back-to-back kills from Lauren Matthews to bring a three-point margin at the start. The two traded in points on the board, until a fiery 3-0 run led the visiting team to the lead at 10 a piece. The Blazers wagered a three-point gap to take the lead over WKU, not so short as a kill and later service ace from Katie Howard slowed UAB down. Hitting the 18th point, Western Kentucky went on a 5-0 run that displayed three Paige Briggs kills. The Blazers managed a late 3-0 spur to 23 points in hopes of taking the first frame, but the Hilltoppers dug in for two kills from Matthews and a block with Matthews and Briggs to claim the opening game.
SET 2
Kenadee Coyle bounced off the first point off the right side to get the Hilltoppers up in the frame. The two were even-squared until a blast of a 4-0 run starting with a dump over the net by setter Callie Bauer brought UAB to use their first timeout of the set. Western Kentucky went on for five more unanswered until UAB broke it down with four of their own. The two levied; a cross-court Kenadee Coyle kill off the assist from Callie Bauer struck a point for the Red and White. Notching the 20th point was Lauren Matthews in the middle to the back line, only followed by three more Kenadee Coyle kills and a kill and service ace from Paige Briggs to close out the second.
SET 3
The final frame started even keel, with no team widening over a two-point margin until the Blazers picked up three in a row to tie the match. Coyle on the right side knocked one over the net to pick up the WKU lead again. The tight match up continued, trading the next six points until the Tops secured a block, ace, and kill for three straight. Katie Howard picked up her second service ace of the evening, before UAB took back a kill. The Hilltoppers captured three more straight points, before UAB challenged a blocking error that was unsuccessful. The last point of the evening was captured by the evening's kills leader, Paige Briggs, on the left corner.
UP NEXT
A quick turnaround, WKU will be back inside Diddle Arena to host LA Tech tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT. Admission to the match is free with your football ticket, as kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.
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 23rd time this season Coach Hudson has used this combination.
- As UAB leaves the conference next season, the Hilltoppers have marginalized a 21-3 all-time record against the Blazers with Friday's win.
- Paige Briggs held the offense with 15 kills and a .385 hitting clip, Lauren Matthews hit for .423 and 14 kills, while Kenadee Coyle notched a .391 arm with 11 kills on the right side.
- Leading the Tops on the service line through the last four, Katie Howard racked up two more aces against the Blazers. Now the outside hitter has 21 service aces in the past six matches and leads the team with 38 total on the season.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 22-2 and undefeated in C-USA play (10-0).
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 715-220 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 993-494.
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.
