GAME INFO
- Location: Ocean Bank Convocation Center
- (2) WKU vs. (7) New Mexico State
- When: Nov. 21 (4 p.m. CT)
- Watch: Friday, Nov. 21
- Follow: Friday, Nov. 21
- Listen: The Varsity Network
ABOUT THE TOPS
- WKU cleaned up in the postseason awards, placing six on All-Conference Teams and earning four of the possible six conference superlatives on Wednesday.
- Callie Bauer earned the Alyssa Cavanaugh Player of the Year award, marking the fifth straight year a Hilltopper has won the award. In addition, since renaming the award after Cavanaugh in 2021, only a member of WKU Volleyball has won. Bauer is ranked in the top 30 nationally in assists per set and is the active career total assists leader in all of NCAA DI Volleyball.
- Izzy Van De Wiele earned Defensive Player of the Year, Kaira Knox earned Freshman of the Year, and Bauer also won Setter of the Year, her second consecutive SOTY award.
- Alivia Skidmore, Faith Young, Bauer, Van De Wiele, and Knox all earned First Team All-Conference while Tayler Baron earned Second Team honors. Knox was also named to the CUSA All-Freshmen team.
- With the win on Saturday against Liberty, the Hilltoppers earned their 11th CUSA championship in 12 possible seasons. It's also their seventh consecutive regular season championship. The regular season championship also brings WKU's program championship total to 35.
- Callie Bauer secured her seventh CUSA Setter of the Week honor on Monday after matches against Liberty where she posted 75 assists, nine kills, two service aces, 15 digs and five total blocks on the weekend. Bauer has led the team to the third best hitting percentage in the country (.307), fifth in kills per set (14.59), and fourth in assists per set (13.65). Her performance also launched WKU to first in assists per set in both overall and conference only stats. Individually, she ranks first in assists per set, averaging 10.24 a set, and is third in total assists (932). The Michigan native is also the active career leader in total assists in NCAA DI Volleyball with 4,800.
SERIES INFORMATION
- The Hilltoppers are 9-6 all-time against Liberty. WKU is also 3-1 against the Aggies when playing on neutral territory.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
- With the conference realignment in 2025, WKU did not play three teams this season: FIU, Kennesaw State, and New Mexico State.
- New Mexico State is currently 14-15 overall and 7-9 in conference. NM State has wins over Eastern Washington, UC San Diego, and Southern Illinois.
- Maggie Lightheart, the CUSA Offensive Player of the Week in Week Nine, leads NM State and is 3rd overall in conference with 3.94 points per set. She's totaled 339 kills this season.
- At the net, Kate Sinclair paces NM State with a total of 86 blocks and is averaging 0.79 blocks per set. Makayla Martinez anchors the back row for the Aggies, leading with 333 digs and averages 3.40 digs per set, ranking her 10th in CUSA.
- Maggie Lightheart is the biggest threat in the conference at the service line, leading with an average of 0.53 service aces per set. She's also collected the most service aces of anyone in the conference, totaling 57 on the season.
