Holding the Bulldogs to a mere .099 hitting percentage, the Tops picked up near double the number of kills on the court to their opponent, as they also stuffed five blocks on defense. Van De Wiele and Briggs led the charge with 10 kills apiece, while libero Abby Schaefer played the back row with 11 digs on the night.
WKU 3, LA Tech 0: 25-19, 25-13, 25-15
Set 1
A kill and service ace from the home side of the court kicked off the 23rd meeting between these two squads. Down by two, the Tops rallied with three straight, headed by a kill from the middle off of Logan Grevengoed and a shot from outside Paige Briggs. Both teams traded on the board, never straying by two points and concluded a rally of nine ties in the set. As both CUSA teams were tied at 14 apiece off a kill from Gabby Weihe, the Tops jumped on a 5-1 run that gave them a three-point lead and the lead for the rest of the frame. A shot from Gabby Weihe in the middle and back-to-back kills from Kaylee Cox capitalized the final few points from the WKU hitters. Cox wrapped up the first set with back-to-back aces from the service line as both teams would switch benches.
Set 2
The Tops' second point of the set came off the hand of middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele – her first of the evening and carried into an impactful 11-1 run that set the tone the rest of the match. In the double-digit point scoring run, Cox, Briggs, and Van De Wiele all picked up kills while Van De Wiele stuffed a solo block from the middle. As the Bulldogs called back with three straight, WKU answered with three of their own to mark a nine-point match. LA Tech dug in, picked up seven points as WKU hit 20 on the scoreboard as setter Callie Bauer played offense with a setter dump and Bulldog hitting error. The host school cut the Red and White's momentum short with a 3-0 drive, capping it with back-to-back service aces, before Logan Grevengoed and the Hilltoppers earned a block at the net and WKU ran on four straight. With senior Cameron Mosley serving, LA Tech's Izabely Benjamin shot a kill to the back row before Van De Wiele closed off the frame with a kill of her own.
Set 3
An errant Bulldog serve into the net opened up WKU on the board in the final frame. Both teams were tied at two, until the Tops ran on five straight featuring back-to-back Van De Wiele kills that forced LA Tech to burn a timeout. The Tops and Bulldogs rallied on the court until WKU extended their lead with four straight. The Hilltoppers kept their lead, running on a 5-1 scoring run capped from the Hilltoppers' front line of Briggs, Grevengoed, and Kenadee Coyle. LA Tech cut the deficit down to an eight-point set before the Tops and Bulldogs traded points the rest of the frame. Subbing in on the right side, senior Shannon Keck would pick up her eighth kill of the season on set point for the Tops. After an unsuccessful challenge, LA Tech would find the bottom of the court with a shot down the line, as freshman Gabby Weihe would cap off the match with a kill from the middle.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU started Callie Bauer, Paige Briggs, Kelsey Brangers, Kaylee Cox, Logan Grevengoed, Gabby Weihe, and freshman Abby Schaefer in at libero.
- Posting a 9-3 record in Ruston, the Hilltoppers are now 16-7 all-time against LA Tech.
- In her best performance in the Red and White, freshman middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele collected her first double-digit kill outing with 10 in three sets, adding to a pair of blocks for a .571 hitting clip.
- Paige Briggs also topped off for a 10-kill match tonight, picking up eight digs in the process.
- The team held the Bulldogs to a mere .099 hitting clip, as the Tops recorded a .356 from the front line.
- Abby Schaefer is on a three-match double-digit dig streak, as she received 11 from the back row, leading the Tops.
- WKU is back inside the Thomas Assembly Center for round two with the Bulldogs, tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
