Freshman middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele saw the court for her Hilltopper debut Friday night: picking up five swings in the process in the middle.
Set 1
Attacking from the beginning, the Hilltoppers and Flyers stayed even throughout eight points until WKU jumped by two with a Paige Briggs kill and Dayton attacking error. Short-lived, the Flyers went on a 6-1 run, then a 4-0 run for a heavy 18-13 lead in Ohio. Reaching a five-point deficit, the Tops made a major shift with a kill from Logan Grevengoed in the middle. After more back and forth rallying, the Flyers took to 25 first ending the first frame.
Set 2
Dayton took three right out of the gate from the Hilltoppers, not long until WKU bounced back with three of their own in a kill and back-to-back service aces from Paige Briggs. The two would trade on the board until it was a 5-8 Dayton match, and they moved into a 5-1 run and take off against WKU. Going on a huge 10-1 run, it was finally broken by a Dayton service error and capitalized with a Grevengoed kill. The Flyers would later take the set, 25-11.
Set 3
The Hilltoppers fell to a strong 6-1 lead from Dayton as Paige Briggs notched the first Hilltopper kill of the set. The two sides would rally until a big seven straight points to the Tops' four on the board would be detriment to the match. After more trades on the board, the Hilltoppers would manage a 5-0 run of their own that consisted of a Kaylee Cox kill, two kills off the hand of Shannon Keck, a setters' dump from Callie Bauer, and an ace at the line from Cox. After another rally, WKU blasted one final 3-1 run with a Gabby Weihe kill and block by Shannon Keck and Callie Bauer, but it was no match for Dayton as they grabbed the final point of the frame and the match off of a block at the net.
SCHEDULE
Friday, August 25 – No. 24 WKU def. No. 12 Marquette, 3-1
Friday, August 25 – Dayton def. No. 24 WKU, 3-0
Saturday, August 26 – 2 p.m. CT | No. 24 WKU vs. Drake | Stats | Varsity Network Radio
POST-MATCH NOTES
- Revamping with a new slate after a group of five seniors, including Lauren Matthews and Katie Isenbarger graduated, WKU started Callie Bauer, Paige Briggs, Kaylee Cox, Kenadee Coyle, Logan Grevengoed, Gabby Weihe, and redshirt-sophomore Kelsey Brangers in at libero.
- Friday's meeting was the ninth between the sides in program history, as WKU still leads with a 5-4 all-time series record.
- Building on defense, senior Shannon Keck led the Tops with three blocks.
- Paige Briggs gained two service aces, while Kaylee Cox picked up one.
- Redshirt-sophomore Callie Bauer collected 23 assists and six digs in the three sets.
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.
