"I'm super proud of our team. I have so much respect for Bowling Green. I've know [BGSU Head Coach] Danijela [Tomic] for a long time and she has done an incredible job in building that program. They are so hard to play against because they are so balanced and do so many things well.", noted head coach Travis Hudson. "This has been a challenging week for us; we've faced as much adversity as you can face in a week. Lauren Matthews had her hand wrapped up out there because she took an injury in practice on Monday. She didn't practice all week and we didn't know if she would be able to play tonight. Then, our libero, Abby Schaefer, suffered a lower back injury in practice yesterday and we didn't know if she would play today. It has been a week filled with adversity and it wasn't the cleanest volleyball we've played, but we found a way."
After taking care of the Falcons, 3-1, in September this season, the Hilltoppers held Bowling Green to a .221 hitting clip, in an even-split match on the stat sheet. WKU had three players: Isenbarger, Matthews, and Briggs all collect 10 kills apiece, while Isenbarger recorded seven blocks up at the net in the middle, and Briggs served up four aces from the line.
WKU 3, BOWLING GREEN 0 - 25-20, 22-23, 25-20
SET 1
The Falcons grabbed the first kill and point of the afternoon, before the two traded off until it was three apiece and WKU went on a big 4-0 run to take a three-point lead with an Abby Schaefer ace and kills from Katie Isenbarger and Paige Briggs. Bowling Green called back with three more of their own, until setter Callie Bauer played some offense and dumped one over the net to catch the Falcons off guard. After BGSU took three again, the Tops clawed in to tie up the match all with kills from the front line of Isenbarger, Matthews, and Rush. After a rally between the two, WKU bounced into a 7-2 run, forcing Bowling Green to burn a timeout. Nearing 20 points, the Hilltoppers garnered two kills from middle hitter Katie Isenbarger, until a kill from rightside hitter Kenadee Coyle, dump over the net from Callie Bauer, and two kills off the hands of Jennifer Rush solidified the first frame.
SET 2
Bowling Green came out swinging, after a rally between the opponents, the Falcons took an early 6-3 lead to get the second set off and running. A cross-court kill from Paige Briggs on the outside took a dent into Bowling Green's run, not until they led the set 9-4 before head coach Travis Hudson called a timeout to reset his squad. Out of the break, the Tops jumped into a 4-1 run, with kills from Isenbarger, Rush, and Coyle, along with an ace from the service line from Briggs. Bowling Green and Western Kentucky traded on the board, until Western Kentucky jumped into four straight to take the lead for the first time in the game. Bowling Green got into the lead with more sideout points, but the Tops dug into seven straight featuring two service aces from Paige Briggs, two kills from the middle from Katie Isenbarger, and a kill from the left from Jennifer Rush. The Falcons pushed through, picking up a 4-1 run to the Hilltoppers until Coach Hudson called his final timeout of the set. All-American Lauren Matthews wrapped up the set with a kill tipped off Falcon blockers' fingers on set point.
SET 3
Digging deep into another 3-0 run for Bowling Green, the Hilltoppers gained the lead with a 5-2 run with two kills apiece from Matthews and Briggs. Starting the blocking stretch into the third set, Katie Isenbarger stuffed her only solo block of the evening on BGSU's Alexis Mettille's attempted cross-court kill for the seventh point and lead in the frame. Divvying out points until a 3-0 run for WKU with sideout points, the Hilltoppers later led into a 5-1 run with four back-to-back blocks featuring the front line of Katie Isenbarger, Kenadee Coyle, and Jennifer Rush, with Paige Briggs collecting two block assists getting up from the back row. Katie Isenbarger sliced a kill off one foot down the middle at the 22-19 mark. Bowling Green found open space to land their 20th point in the game, but two kills from Lauren Matthews and a push-back dump on the overpass from Callie Bauer led WKU to the next round of NCAAs.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers advance to the second round of the Lexington sub-regional and will face the winner of the Kentucky/Loyola-Chicago match at 6 p.m. CT tomorrow night in Memorial Coliseum.
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 31st time this season Coach Hudson has used this combination.
- Seeing the Falcons for a short time span, WKU holds the overall 3-0 all-time series against the MAC opponent.
- WKU Volleyball collected their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament win in the first round, while also hitting 1,000 program wins.
- Redshirt-freshman setter Callie Bauer picked up 34 assists in the three-set match.
- Off of eight swings, senior outside hitter Jennifer Rush marked a perfect match: collecting six kills for a .750 hitting clip on the evening.
- On defense, Katie Isenbarger led the way with seven blocks, followed by Paige Briggs and Kenadee Coyle with three up at the net.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 29-3, 3-1 in the post-season. WKU is 8-14 in the NCAA Tournament.
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 722-221 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 1000-495.
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.
