Defense was key in the feat. The Hilltoppers were one block assist shy of tying the season high, finishing the day with 16 in total. WKU held IU to a .185 hitting percentage for the match and forced the Hoosiers to commit 27 errors on the day.
Western Kentucky 3, Indiana 1 – 19-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-23
SET 1
The Hoosiers got the scoring started Saturday afternoon, but a serving error put WKU on the board. The Hoosiers were first to reach ten after a 9-3 run. WKU burned a timeout after an Indiana ace stretched the Hoosier lead to seven. Matthews dumped one over the net to pull the Tops within four and a 3-0 WKU run forced the Hoosiers to call time, as the Hilltoppers were inching up. Isenbarger had a block and a kill in the stretch, but Indiana responded with a 4-0 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Big Ten team wrapped up the first frame with a 3-1 stretch.
SET 2
Indiana grabbed the first two points, but WKU responded with two of their own. A Callie Bauer ace brought the Tops within one. Bloomington native, Kenadee Coyle fired a kill cross court to stop a Hoosier run, trailing by four. Paige Briggs notched a kill in between the hands of a Hoosier to later cut the deficit to one. Briggs then added two more kills to tie the set at 17. Indiana used a 3-0 run to take a 21-18 lead, but Coyle placed one over the net to cut the deficit. The Hilltoppers added two more and the set was tied again, this time at 21. Rush dropped one into no-man's land to give the Tops a 24-23 lead. Matthews closed the set out with a kill just inside the back line.
SET 3
WKU struck first in set three in part to a Katie Isenbarger kill. Indiana tied things up at three, but the Tops responded with three in a row including back-to-back kills from Briggs to take a 6-3 advantage. Two more and the Hoosiers were forced to call time with WKU in a great lead. Katie Howard served up an ace and WKU was up nine, 12-3. In the 9-0 run Briggs had four kills and Matthews with three, and the service ace for Howard. After an IU timeout the Hilltoppers went on a 5-0 run to take a 19-5 lead while hitting at a .667 clip. The Tops finished off the frame with a commanding block from Briggs and Isenbarger. In the set, the Tops had 14 kills and no errors off of 21 attacks for a .667 hitting clip, adding three blocks.
SET 4
Indiana was first to the scoring column in set four and took a quick 4-1 lead with the Tops lone point coming from a Lauren Matthews kill. Coyle floated one over the net to bring WKU within one, trailing 8-7. Out of a Hilltopper timeout, Lauren Matthews stuffed a block to bring WKU within four. A 3-0 WKU run forced the Hoosiers to call time, as the Hilltoppers were down 16-13. Indiana responded with three of their own to take the edge, not before Jennifer Rush notched a kill to pull WKU within two 21-19. Diddle Arena exploded when the Hilltoppers tied the set at 23 and again when Isenbarger dropped one down to give WKU, set point. Isenbarger shut the door on the Hoosiers with another block to give WKU another Big Ten victory.
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers open Conference USA action on the road against UAB on Friday, September 23 at 7 p.m. CT, followed by a match in Murfreesboro against Middle Tennessee on Saturday the 24th. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU used the lineup of Paige Briggs, Katie Howard, Lauren Matthews, Katie Isenbarger, Kenadee Coyle, Callie Bauer, and Abby Schaefer at libero for the match. This is the only line-up Hudson has used for all 14 matches the Hilltoppers have played this season.
- WKU now leads the all-time series with Indiana, 3-2. This is the third straight win for the Hilltoppers over the Hoosiers.
- Senior Paige Briggs hit .425 during Saturday's match, collecting 20 kills and earning 21.5 points. Fifth-year Lauren Mathews followed suit 10 kills for 14.5 points.
- Fifth Year Katie Isenbarger picked up 5 kills on 8 attacks to go along with a pair of solo blocks for 8.5 points.
- Freshman libero Abby Schaefer led the reception for the Hilltoppers with 9, followed by Callie Bauer and Paige Briggs who each had 8.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 12-2 and lead C-USA in the standings thus far.
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 705-220 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 983-494 with Saturday's victory.
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.
