NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds December 1-2 // Hosted by [12] Kentucky |
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| Match 32: Bowling Green (22-9) | Thurs., Dec. 1 | 3:45 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | 102.7 ESPN // Listen Live | Livestats | ||||
| Match 33: (With Win) | Fri., Dec. 2 | 6 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | 102.7 ESPN // Listen Live | Livestats | ||||
| Media Center | WKU | Interactive Bracket | Bracket | ||||
| Record Books | WKU | NCAA Volleyball | NCAA Championships | ||||
| Tickets | All-session and individual matches are available. | ||||
| Series History | Bowling Green | Loyola-Chicago | Kentucky | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUVolleyball | @WKU Volleyball  | Facebook  | YouTube  | Tik Tok |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Volleyball will be back in action in Lexington, Kentucky for the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament this weekend. The postseason action will begin on Dec. 1 with the 22nd-ranked Hilltoppers opening play against Bowling Green at 3:45 p.m. CT.
All NCAA Tournament matches will be available on ESPN+, for fans who elect to subscribe.
As is the case for every Hilltopper match this season, all the action will also be available on the radio with Brad Klein and Ken Marshall on the play-by-play call. Any matches the Hilltoppers play from Lexington, Ky., this weekend will air on ESPN Radio 102.7 FM.
First Round
Thursday, December 1 – 3:45 p.m. CT | WKU vs. Bowling Green
Thursday, December 1 - 6:30 p.m. CT | [3] Kentucky vs. Loyola-Chicago
Second Round
Friday, December 2 – 6 p.m. CT | Winners of Thursday matches
Bowling Green finished the regular season with a 22-9 record. Claiming the automatic bid with the MAC Volleyball Tournament win, The Falcons are 10-2 in their last 12 matches. In action against common opponents, Bowling Green has taken care of Northern Kentucky, DePaul, and league opponent Toledo, as has Western Kentucky in 2022.
WKU and Bowling Green will meet for the third time ever with the Hilltoppers owning a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series. The sides met back in September, where WKU took a 3-1 match in Ohio, while BGSU hosted the Falcon Invitational during the second weekend of NCAA Volleyball.
Following its Conference USA regular season title, WKU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 28-3 record. The Hilltoppers currently own 20 sweeps on the season. WKU has only lost three matches this season, two of which from NCAA Tournament teams, Louisville and Rice.
The Hilltoppers will be making the program's 15th NCAA Tournament appearance - all under head coach Travis Hudson. WKU has been in the tournament eight of the last nine and 11 of the last 13 seasons. WKU Volleyball is 7-14 all-time in the NCAA tournament. The Hilltoppers have made it to the Second Round in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. In the spring 2020-21 campaign, WKU made its deepest tournament run in school history, advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing to the eventual national champions, Kentucky.
Fifth-year seniors Ashley Hood, Katie Isenbarger, and Lauren Matthews are 5-4 in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Second Round in 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the Sweet 16 in 2020-21.
Lauren Matthews leads the team in kills this season with 448. Matthews is currently second in all-time kills by a Hilltopper with 1,863. Additionally, she is WKU's al-time leader in blocks, totaling 533, and leads the nation in career hitting percentage through her five years at Western Kentucky, with a .422 hitting clip. Redshirt-freshman setter Callie Bauer led Conference USA in assists/set (11.15) and total assists on the season with 1,171
WKU as a team holds the second-highest hitting clip in the nation, .320, just behind Texas, while the Hilltoppers led C-USA in blocks/set at 2.58.
The Tops have claimed the No. 22 spot in this week's AVCA rankings. WKU has now been ranked in 53-consecutive polls, dating back into the 2019 campaign.
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU Volleyball earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The Hilltoppers have gone to The Dance the last 7-of-8 total seasons in C-USA, this season's trip to NCAAs marks WKU's 15th overall trip.
- Fifth-year Lauren Matthews picked up her third C-USA Alyssa Cavanugh Player of the Year award, while being named C-USA All-Conference for 2022. Head coach Travis Hudson was tabbed Coach of the Year, while setter Callie Bauer earned the league's Freshman of the Year award, while claiming All-Conference and Freshman Team nods. Senior Paige Briggs joined Matthews and Bauer on the All-Conference Team, fifth-year Katie Isenbarger was tabbed All-Conference Second Team, and libero Abby Schaefer claimed a spot on the Freshman Team.
- Matthews, Briggs, and Isenbarger all earned spots on C-USA's All-Tournament Team, hosted by WKU Nov. 18-20.
- Since 2011, WKU is the winningest team in the nation with 344 wins.
- The Hilltoppers are tied for the longest road winning streak in all of NCAA Volleyball with 10-straight wins.
- WKU is undefeated, 14-0, away from Diddle Arena this season.
- WKU picked up win #20 team this season back on Oct. 21 against Charlotte. The Hilltoppers now own 23-consecutive 20-win seasons, the second longest active streak in NCAA Volleyball.
- Callie Bauer, Katie Isenbarger, and Paige Briggs were tabbed to Conference USA's 11-member All-Academic Volleyball Team on Monday, Nov. 15. The honor marks the first for Bauer, second of Isenbarger's career, and third for Briggs on The Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is more accessible than ever with radio broadcasts for every match. The Tops are 1 of just 10 Division I Volleyball programs that currently have live radio for home and away matches.
