Hudson Notches 800th Career Win With Sweep of MTSU

Saturday, November 1

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1 p.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

20-5,11-1CUSA

Middle Tennessee

10-14,2-10CUSA

Western Ky.

Middle Tenn.

Photo by: Caty Llamas, WKU Athletics

11/1/2025 4:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- WKU Volleyball cruised to another sweep over Middle Tennessee thanks to effective serving and a strong floor defense. With the win, Head Coach Travis Hudson also recorded his 800th career win and his 26th straight season with at least 20 wins.

Led by setter Callie Bauer with three service aces, the Hilltoppers (20-5 overall, 11-1 CUSA) recorded a total of six service aces and 56 digs, anchored by libero Tayler Baron with 20. On offense, WKU held the advantage in hitting percentage, posting .257 to MTSU's (10-14 overall, 2-10 CUSA) .147.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: 25-23
Despite a slow start for the Hilltoppers and down by as many as three early, WKU went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 10-8, and forced a MTSU timeout. The Blue Raiders managed to tie the set at 19-19, but a string of WKU points and MTSU errors widened WKU's lead to three with a kill from right-side hitter Kaira Knox to seal the win. Knox led WKU's offense with four kills while outside hitter Sonja Laaksonen and middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele were responsible for the one block. Baron also posted the most single-set digs in the first frame, finishing with eight.

Set 2: 25-17
The second frame was a balanced one offensively, with four Hilltopper hitters recording at least three kills. Laaksonen and outside hitter Alivia Skidmore led with four each while Knox and middle hitter Faith Young added three apiece. WKU was far more dominant in the second set, leading by as many as nine and keeping the Blue Raiders to a match low .111 hitting clip to WKU's match high hitting percentage of .316. In addition, MTSU never led or even tied the score in the second frame. The Hilltoppers added an additional 14 digs to their total, led by Baron with five. At the service line, four different Hilltoppers recorded a service ace: Baron, Bauer, Skidmore, and defensive specialist Abby Schaefer.

Set 3: 25-17
With momentum squarely in the Hilltoppers' favor, all facets of WKU's play exploded in the final set. Offensively, Laaksonen led with five kills, Bauer added two more service aces, the back row tallied 23 digs, and the net defense logged three team blocks led by Van De Wiele with two. The Tops also dominated the sideout percentage, posting 88% to MTSU's 60%. Laaksonen's .571 hitting clip in the final frame was her best of the match while Skidmore and Baron combined for 13 of WKU's 23 digs. Laaksonen also posted the only solo block of the set to round out her performance.

NOTABLES

With the win, Head Coach Travis Hudson earned his 800th win. He becomes only the third active coach in NCAA DI Volleyball with at least 800 wins.
The sweep against MTSU marks WKU's 20th win of the season. The 2025 season becomes the program's 26th-straight season with at least 20 wins, the longest active streak in the country.
Saturday's win is the 61st win in the all-time series against the Blue Raiders.
Sonja Laaksonen's 10-kill performance is the third of the season.
The two wins over Middle Tennessee extends WKU's win streak to 28 matches.
Tayler Baron logged her fourth match this season with at least 20 digs. She extends her double-digit digs streak to five matches while Saturday's win is her 15th double-digit dig performance this season.

UP NEXT
WKU will host Delaware on Nov. 7 & 8 for the Blue Hens' first matches against the Tops as members of CUSA. First serve on Friday is set for 6 p.m. CT.