"I have never seen that [no outside hitter hitting errors], never in my entire coaching career have I ever seen that", said head coach Travis Hudson. "That's a pretty incredible stat. That's who they [Briggs and Cox] are though. They are really special talents and obviously very, very good tonight."
With her .667 hitting percentage, Briggs also tacked on five of the 10 Hilltopper service aces, totaling the team high 22.0 points. Logan Grevengoed picked up five blocks, while Gabby Weihe stuffed four on the defensive side of the net.
WKU 3, LIBERTY 0: 25-23, 25-14, 25-15
Set 1
The first road test for the Hilltoppers in CUSA action opened with a Hilltopper errant serve, followed by a 4-0 run that featured a Paige Briggs kill on the line, an ace from Katie Howard, and back-to-back blocks stuffed by Gabby Weihe. The Tops never gave up the lead until the largest gap of the set at 16-10 capped off with a kill down the right side from Kenadee Coyle. The Flames jumped on offense, gaining four straight points and wagering a two-point set until Kaylee Cox cut the run short with a kill of the Liberty defender's fingertips. As the two teams rallied back-and-forth, Liberty jumped on a 4-1 run to be within one point of tying the frame, before a serve gone into the net gave the Hilltoppers the ball. The Tops gained back momentum with a Briggs kill followed by one of five aces from the line. Kaylee Cox closed the set with a kill to the back row and gave WKU the lead.
Set 2
Both CUSA members came out even, tying up at three apiece until Liberty went on two in a row for a slight 5-3 lead. WKU answered back with a 6-1 run in points to take their own lead. After a Hilltopper errant serve, the Tops bounced back on a 7-1 run that ended with three Paige Briggs service aces, forcing the Flames to burn a timeout with an eight-point gap in the score. Out of the break, the Hilltoppers and Flames traded points on the scoreboard until three straight points that included a block assist from Callie Bauer and Weihe and a kill from Briggs capped off an 11-point margin. A kill from middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele and sideout point given to the Tops gave them the match lead.
Set 3
The Tops rallied out from the start with a 4-1 point run with a Bauer ace, Briggs kill, and block assist featuring Cox and Weihe. The Flames narrowed in on WKU, coming within one on the scoreboard on five separate occasions. The Red and White took charge, widening the margin with three points in a row capped with Briggs' final service ace. A 6-1 run would lead the Hilltoppers above with nine points ahead – a run that included back-to-back blocks from Logan Grevengoed. WKU would take over on the final two points of the match. Callie Bauer completed a setter dump for her second kill of the night followed by an attack out of bounds from the Flames leading to the match for WKU.
POST-MATCH NOTES
- WKU started Callie Bauer, Paige Briggs, Kelsey Brangers, Kaylee Cox, Logan Grevengoed, Gabby Weihe, and freshman Abby Schaefer in at libero.
- After only playing once in program history, the Tops own the all-time record against their new conference opponent, 2-0.
- The Hilltoppers tallied up 10 aces from the service line, five of which came from the second set alone.
- Both the Hilltopper starting outside hitters marked perfect nights at the net. Junior Kaylee Cox stuck for 15 kills off of 29 swings, while fifth-year Paige Briggs hit 16 kills off of 24 attacks on the left.
- Along with her 15 kills, Cox also picked up 10 digs from the back row – collecting her fourth double-double of the season.
- The Tops' .430 hitting clip of the evening marked the highest as a team thus far in the season. The Hilltoppers season average has grown to .296.
- WKU will wrap up its series with Liberty tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. CT inside Liberty Arena. The action can be viewed 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.
