The offensive arms on the front line were the answer to Friday evening's conference sweep, as the Hilltoppers hit .495 in the evening. Katie Isenbarger marked a stellar career night, picking up zero errors on her .583 hitting clip along with 7 kills. Five Hilltoppers hit over .400 against the Blazers, also noting setter Callie Bauer hitting seven-for-seven over the net.
Hitting another career milestone was senior Paige Briggs on the evening, the Michigan native picked up four digs to earn a spot in the 1,000 career digs club, along with over 1,000 kills earned back in August.
"Good to get a 3-0 win to start conference play" noted head coach Travis Hudson. "I didn't think we were great defensively, but we played really well on the offensive side of the ball."
Western Kentucky 3, UAB 0 – 25-18, 25-19, 25-18
SET 1
A kill to the left-hand corner off Lauren Matthews got the scoring started inside Bartow Arena. The Hilltoppers went on to gain four unanswered, before the Blazers came back with the call. A kill on the right side off the set from Callie Bauer broke UAB's run and garnered traction for the Tops. Trading points, WKU went on a 4-0 run featuring two kills from Paige Briggs, Callie Bauer, and a service ace for libero Abby Schaefer. Back-to-back kills from Isenbarger and Briggs ran the Blazers to use their first timeout. After regrouping, an even match up in trading points with the Tops leading at four concluded. WKU was the first to reach 20, solidifying the frame off a Katie Isenbarger kill.
SET 2
The Blazers came up with the fast start, taking three points themselves before a Kenadee Coyle kill threw them off course. A kill right down the middle from Matthews tied up the match at an even 3-3 inside Bartow Arena. A share of points made out for a tight match back-and-forth between the Hilltoppers and Blazers. A kill from the right-side off of Kenadee Coyle led the Blazers to regroup, and out of the timeout, WKU went on a 4-1 run. Wrapping it up, back-to-back kills from Lauren Matthews and Paige Briggs drew the end of the second set.
SET 3
Digging down into the third frame, the Hilltoppers went on a 6-1 run to kick off the final set that featured two Lauren Matthews kills. A few more trading points, WKU still held the edge by seven points. An easy stuff block by Lauren Matthews and Jennifer Rush ran UAB to call another break. Through an 11-3 run for the Tops into 20 points during the match. Kills from Katie Isenbarger, Paige Briggs, and Lauren Matthews closed out the first match up between the Tops and Blazers.
NEXT UP
With a quick turnaround into more Conference USA action, WKU heads right to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to take on Middle Tennessee. First serve is scheduled for tomorrow, Sept 24 at 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 15 matches the Hilltoppers have played this season.
- In the series, WKU now has 15 wins under its' belt, to UAB's 23.
- WKU hit .643 in their opening set of the evening, the highest on the season.
- Fifth-year Katie Isenbarger picked up 7 kills to go with a .583 hitting clip, Coyle hit .500, following Matthews at .474 frame, and followed by the match's kills leader Paige Briggs (16) hitting .462.
- As a team collectively tabbing 37 digs, setter Callie Bauer notched eight digs, followed by Ashley Hood with seven.
- The Hilltoppers now stand at 12-2 and lead C-USA in the standings thus far.
- Head coach Travis Hudson is now 706-220 across his career on the Hill.
- WKU Volleyball is now up to an all-time program record of 984-494 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.
