Kaira Knox quickly made a name for herself after Friday, finishing the day with a total of 25 kills, 11 digs, and three total blocks on the day. Alivia Skidmore and Callie Bauer joined Knox in double-digit kills with 17 and 10, respectively, across both matches.
WRIGHT STATE: 3-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: 25-20
Taking advantage of both blocking and serving errors by Wright State (1-1 overall), WKU took set one after collecting a total of nine kills, led by Knox with five. At the service line, freshman defensive specialist Kennedy Cherry and sophomore outside hitter Alivia Skidmore recorded a service ace each. Junior middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele led the way at the net with two total blocks to contribute to WKU's five during the set.
Set 2: 25-18
Exploding in the second set and finding their rhythm, the Hilltoppers exploded for 15 kills in the second set with Skidmore coming alive and adding six kills to bring her total to eight. WKU also improved from a .034 (9-8-29) hitting percentage in set one to a .440 (15-4-25) in set two. Sophomore libero Camila Adams also added a service ace to the tally to bring the total to three.
Set 3: 25-18
Efficiency was the name of the game in set three as the Tops continued to improve their set-to-set hitting percentage along with their sideout percentage. WKU went from a .034 and a 75% sideout rate to .458 (13-2-24) and an 84% sideout rate. In addition, Knox crossed the double-digit kill threshold for the first time in her career, finishing the third set with four kills and bringing her total to 12 on the day. WKU also finished the match with five service aces as Cherry and sophomore middle hitter Faith Young recorded one each.
LOYOLA-CHICAGO: 3-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: 25-23
Knox literally came out swinging in set one, posting a team-high six kills in the first for a .625 hitting percentage (6-1-8). Meanwhile, five different Hilltoppers collected credit for blocks as WKU bested LUC at the net, four blocks to three.
Set 2: 25-18
Recording only one less kill than the first set, WKU put together a 15-kill performance in set two led by three different Hilltoppers adding four kills to their totals. Meanwhile, Tayler Baron and Abby Schaefer shared the load on the back row with three digs each to bring their totals to seven. The Tops finished the second set with a .362 cumulative hitting percentage (33-8-69).
Set 3: 25-15
The final set of the night was led by the WKU defense, adding four more blocks to bring the team total to 10. Young led the way with four blocks while Schaefer added another six blocks and finished with a team-high 13 digs. Both Skidmore and Knox contributed three kills each as the Hilltoppers finished the set with 11 kills.
NOTABLES
- Kaira Knox finished the night with 25 kills across both matches.
- Alivia Skidmore was right behind Knox in kills with 17 on the day.
- Faith Young led at the net with six total blocks, Gabby Weihe was second with four.
- WKU outblocked its opponents, 17-11.
- Abby Schaefer finished with a team-high 22 digs, Kennedy Cherry and Tayler Baron recorded 12 digs each.
