"I'm very pleased to get it out in three sets and advance against a team we have a lot of respect for" noted head coach Travis Hudson. "We did what needed to be done. I was a little worried of how we would be emotionally today, Thursday night [11/10 against Rice] felt like a tournament championship, just because it was two teams and Rice would have won a championship if they won, we would win a championship if we won. There was a lot of energy and emotion, so I was worried about our team picking themselves up, but I'm really really pleased in what we did. Hopefully we can settle in and make a run in this thing."
Holding the Blue Raiders to a -.043 hitting clip in the second set, WKU saw a mix of both heavy offense and defense from the front line, tabbing on 42 collective kills, nine blocks up front, and nine aces from the service line. Three Hilltoppers tied for two aces apiece, while setter Callie Bauer led the reception game with seven digs, and middle hitter Katie Isenbarger stuffed five blocks up at the middle.
WKU 3, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0 - 25-21, 25-12, 25-21
SET 1
Western Kentucky rightside hitter Kenadee Coyle opened up the drive for the Red and White with a kill off the corner, not before a 10-point rally between the two teams until WKU took two in a row with a Katie Isenbarger kill from the middle and one of two Paige Briggs service aces. The Hilltoppers later wagered a five-point match with a kill from the 2022 C-USA Alyssa Cavanaugh Player of the Year Lauren Matthews, errant kill from MTSU, and an ace at the line from sophomore Katie Howard. The Tops continued their drive with a 5-0 run that featured back-to-back kills from Isenbarger in the middle. The Blue Raiders called on a 6-2 run in their favor as WKU hit the 20-point mark, the Hilltoppers closed down the frame as their final three points of the set were all kills off the hand of Lauren Matthews.
SET 2
Exploding into the second set, the Hilltoppers drove in the first two until erupting into eight straight points before the Blue Raiders called for a timeout. Out of the 9-1 score, MTSU even-keeled to take in four more, not until the Hilltoppers ran five straight. The run, including three Blue Raider errors, featured a kill from Katie Howard off the left side of the court, and an ace from Katie Isenbarger at the line. Pushing forth into more runs, Paige Briggs knocked down the ball to the left line near a Blue Raider defensive specialist to kick off five straight points for the Red and White. Freshman libero Abby Schaefer collected two back-to-back aces which forced Middle to burn a timeout. Later an Isenbarger kill and attacking error from MTSU led the Tops three points shy of solidifying the match. The frame was ended on a Kenadee Coyle kill off the righthand side. The Hilltoppers held Middle Tennessee to their lowest of the day, -.043 with only six kills in the set.
SET 3
In the mid-day match, the Hilltoppers jumped into .591 collective hitting clip throughout the frame. The Blue Raiders jumped at the first two points, until WKU took control of the set in a four-point run containing two kills from Paige Briggs and a kill from Katie Howard. After trading points, the Blue Raiders caught up to tie the match at seven apiece with two kills from hitter Kayla Henley. The Tops rebounded, taking the next four of five with kills from Coyle, Howard, and Briggs. Steadily moving up and taking a slight 14-13 lead at the middle point of the final frame. After some movement back-and-forth between the two opponents, WKU shot out a 7-2 run featuring a Paige Briggs kill and ace to bring Diddle Arena to match point. Two more points taken from Middle, and WKU solidified their match tomorrow off a service error.
UP NEXT
Back inside Diddle Arena, Western Kentucky will play the winner of the match-up between North Texas and UAB, Saturday November 19 at 12 p.m. CT. The match will be available for stream on ESPN+.
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 28th time this season Coach Hudson has used this combination.
- In the series, WKU is holding the 57-16 edge over the regional rival Blue Raiders. The Tops have won the last 28 sets over Middle Tennessee.
- After marking her 1000th career assist over Rice last weekend, redshirt freshman setter Callie Bauer recorded 33 assists over the afternoon.
- At over 10 attempts apiece, four different WKU players posted a hitting percentage of .350 or higher. Paige Briggs led the offense with a .591 hitting clip, followed by Lauren Matthews at .500 even.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 27-2, 1-0 in the post-season.
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 720-220 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 998-494.
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.
