Coming back in for a fifth-year of volleyball, defensive specialist Ashley Hood was dawning the #22 jersey in black and tabbed 12 digs in the night, leading the defense.
Set 1
The Hilltoppers wasted no time getting ahead in Friday's primetime matchup, opening up an 7-54 lead over the Braves. A few points later, the Red and White strung together a 4-0 run to push to force a Bradley timeout on their new head coach. From there, WKU pushed ahead to two 3-0 runs before closing the opening frame with a 25-16 win.
Set 2
Fifth-year senior Katie Isenbarger opened the second frame with a service ace towards the home side. An impeccable 9-1 run led to a nine-point margin and the largest gap of the evening. Operating at a .464 clip, the Tops picked up 15 kills in the second set, with Matthews taking credit on seven of the points. The Hilltoppers capped Bradley at 11 kills and .219 hitting – only their highest of the night.
Set 3
A power start into the final frame led the Hilltoppers into a 6-1 run inside Renaissance Coliseum. Both teams even traded points, until the Tops got another spurt and hit a 9-3 run forcing a Bradley timeout. After the break, WKU called back answering two more points with a kill from Paige Briggs. A back and forth battle finally ended at 25 with a kill of the arm of junior Shannon Keck.
SCHEDULE
Friday, August 26 – No. 21 WKU def. Miami (OH), 3-0
Friday, August 26 – No. 21 WKU def. Bradley, 3-0
Saturday, August 27 – 1 p.m. CT | No. 21 WKU vs. Kansas City | Stats | WKU Radio (98.3 FM The EDGE)
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Revamping with a new slate after five seniors graduating, WKU started Callie Bauer, Paige Briggs, Kenadee Coyle, Katie Howard, Lauren Matthews, Katie Isenbarger, and Abby Schaefer.
- Friday's meeting concludes the sixth meeting between the sides in program history, WKU still inching towards the Braves in a now 2-4 series.
- Freshmen Abby Schaefer, Callahan Weigandt, Logan Grevengoed, as well as redshirt Callie Bauer made their Hilltopper debuts against Miami of Ohio in the morning 10 a.m. match.
- Senior Paige Briggs recorded her 35th double-double of her career, tabbing in 14 kills and 11 digs.
- Off of nine attempts, sophomore Kenadee Coyle picked up a .667 hitting percentage on the match, earning a new career-best six kills.
- Redshirt-freshman Callie Bauer racked up 39 assists to go along with five digs.
