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WKU (24-6 overall, 17-0 CUSA) posted a sweltering .408 [51-9-103] hitting percentage to Liberty's (13-16 overall, 7-10 CUSA) .228 led by both senior outside hitter Kaylee Cox and freshman pin hitter Alivia Skidmore with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Â
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HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ Â
Set 1: 25-19Â
Wasting no time in the first match of the weekend, both Skidmore and Cox posted five kills each to support WKU's .424 [18-4-33] hitting percentage. Not far behind the pair was sophomore middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele with four kills of her own. Freshman outside hitter Faith Young and redshirt junior setter Callie Bauer logged the sole block in the set.Â
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Set 2: 25-17Â
The Flames seemingly could not stop Cox and Skidmore as the duo both added five more kills to their total with Skidmore hitting a staggering .500 [5-1-8] and Cox hitting .455 [5-0-11] in the second frame. Van De Wiele also grabbed her first solo block of the night while Skidmore also claimed the first service ace of the match.Â
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Set 3: 25-23Â
With the regular season championship in their sights, the Hilltoppers wrapped up the final set with a .378 [16-2-37] hitting percentage and another solo block from Van De Wiele. Skidmore led the way in the third set with six kills while Cox was right behind her with five. WKU's performance at the service line also came alive with three additional service aces. Â
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NOTABLES
- With the win against Liberty, the Hilltoppers have won six straight regular season championships for a total of 13 in the last 14 seasonsÂ
- Alivia Skidmore led with 16 kills while Kaylee Cox finished with 15Â
- Kaylee Cox posted her 13th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digsÂ
- Kaylee Cox led in digs with 12Â
- Alivia Skidmore led in service aces with twoÂ
Travis Hudson on Win Over Liberty
"Just wow. So proud. So many great things are going to go on this weekend here on the Hill with our program and me but none will be more meaningful than that. It just means so much to see, to know the work our kids put in every year to try to get into a position to win a championship and to be able to do it in Diddle Arena against a very worth opponent. Liberty played really well tonight, they played like a team that had nothing to lose and were just kind of bringing it. They kept a lot of pressure on us but you know, you see us play that schedule we played way back when I think has hardened our team a bit. And so we don't ever seem to waver. And we found a way to win tonight."
Travis Hudson & Kaylee Cox Press Conference
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NEXT UPÂ Â
WKU will play its final CUSA regular season match against Liberty on Friday. First serve is set for 6 p.m.Â
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Follow the Hilltoppers on X (@WKUVolleyball) and Instagram (@wku_volleyball) as the team continues its CUSA campaign.Â
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