"My first comment is this, Kentucky is playing at an extremely level right now. Craig (Skinner), Anders (Nelson) and that whole staff are some of the best people in this profession and you know they've had their share of adversity this as well" said head coach, Travis Hudson. "For us, I've always said you get to tournament time, you got to be really good, and we are, but you got to get a little bit lucky, and we haven't been. It's been a rough week for us."
Short in all three sets, the Hilltoppers were without starting libero Abby Schaefer as back-up Cameron Mosley jumped onto the court fearlessly with grit and determination for the Red and White. Fifth-year middle hitter Lauren Matthews was also suffering coming back from a recent hand injury earlier in the week.
"On Monday, Lauren (Matthews) hurt her hand, doesn't practice all week, and comes up here and guts it out but both those teams did a good job against Lauren Matthews. But just look at the history of Lauren Matthews and you know. Lauren Matthews didn't have a block this weekend. Tell me the last time Lauren Matthews didn't have a block and she didn't have one all week. Watching her be the gutty warrior that she is and gut it out and appear in our first practice. Abby (Schaefer), our libero goes to dive for a ball and all of a sudden can't get off the ground. We were able to get her out there and she gutted it out last night and just simply, literally couldn't get out of bed this morning. Second team All Americans and Liberos are pretty important this this time of year. You got to have the balance and we didn't have the balance, but it allowed us to show people."
In a modified lineup, WKU managed to improve throughout the match, jumping from a .154 hitting clip to hitting .417 in the third set. Katie Isenbarger led the hitting chart with a .333 clip, followed by senior Jennifer Rush with five kills operating at a .267 rate against the SEC opponent.
"I get tired of people talking about how much our program wins because it takes away from what our program's about. That was on full display tonight, what our program is about in terms of fight and guts and character. So, I'm just really, really proud of our kids."
WKU 0, KENTUCKY 3 - 17-25, 16-25, 21-25
SET 1
A strong block stuffed by Katie Isenbarger and Paige Briggs opened up WKU on the board in front of 2,387 in Lexington. The two wagered back-and-forth in scoring before the Wildcats went on an explosive 5-0 run. The Hilltoppers clawed, gaining the next three of four with kills from the front line of Briggs, Isenbarger, and Rush. UK called back on three of their own to wager a five-point lead. The two teams rallied with Lauren Matthews collecting the final two kills for the Red and White, but still short until the Wildcats' Azhani Tealer shut the frame with a strike down the right side.
SET 2
Western Kentucky collected the first point of set two off a service error from the Blue. The score stayed even until the fourth point for all and Kentucky rallied on four straight points. Two back-to-back kills off the hand of Lauren Matthews broke up their run. UK pushed forth momentum, cutting into five more before Lauren Matthews struck again from the middle. The Hilltoppers took two more side out points and two more kills off the hand of Paige Briggs on the left before only sufficing to 16 in the second frame.
SET 3
The Hilltoppers came in strong with a 4-0 run curtesy of blocks with Isenbarger/Briggs, Isenbarger/Bauer, and two back-to-back kills from outside hitter Paige Briggs. The Wildcats cut the run short, but a successful touch challenge from head coach Travis Hudson drew the score 5-1 in favor of Western Kentucky inside Memorial Coliseum. The Hilltoppers jumped back into a 5-2 run and held their largest lead of the entire match, in a six-point margin. Two kills from the right in Kenadee Coyle, and a kill apiece for Matthews, Isenbarger, and Rush led the momentum for the Red and White. The home team however, found their way back up in a 9-1 to hold the lead once again. The Hilltoppers rebutted, with strong kills from the middle from Matthews and Isenbarger. The two rallied down the stretch, trading points as Kentucky held a four-point advantage, a kill from UK's Erin Lamb just tipping right over the net sealed the Wildcats' fate into the Sweet Sixteen.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU used the lineup of Paige Briggs, Katie Howard, Lauren Matthews, Katie Isenbarger, Ashley Hood, Callie Bauer, and Cameron Mosley. This is the 1st time this season Coach Hudson has used this combination.
- Fifth-year senior Ashley Hood suited up for her first career start on the Hill, while junior Cameron Mosley wore the alternate in the libero spot in Memorial.
- Longtime in-state rivals, WKU and Kentucky have met 20 times, UK holding the edge with a 16-4 record against the Hilltoppers.
- Redshirt-freshman setter Callie Bauer picked up 31 assists in the three-set match.
- Leading the offense, senior Paige Briggs tabbed 10 kills from the left, followed by middle hitters Lauren Matthews (9), and Katie Isenbarger (5).
- On defense, Katie Isenbarger led the way with four blocks, followed by Paige Briggs (3) and Callie Bauer (2) up at the net.
- The Hilltoppers finished their 2022 run at 29-4, 3-2 in the post-season. WKU is 8-15 in the NCAA Tournament.
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 722-222 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 1000-496.
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.
