The WKU offense produced 51 kills Saturday with a .339 hitting percentage and had success at the service line, finishing with seven aces. The Hilltoppers were led by Faith Young who accounted for 14 kills on a .565 hitting clip. Eliza McKnight added nine kills and finished with a team and match best .643 mark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, MSU 0
SET ONE - WKU 25, MSU 20
An attack error gave the Hilltoppers the first point of the day. Young recorded the first kill of the match for either side. She'd later add another for a 4-2 lead. Up a pair, McKnight fired off her first kill for an 8-5 edge. Sonja Laaksonen became the fifth different Hilltopper to log a kill, pushing WKU over 10. Kaira Knox tallied the first ace of the afternoon, forcing a Bear timeout, leading 11-5. Three more out of the break extended the Hilltopper lead to nine. The fourth kill for Young sent the two into the break with a 15-7 lead. Alivia Skidmore pushed the WKU kill total to nine, adding to the eight-point lead. Another kill by Young forced the final Missouri State timeout, holding a nine-point, 20-11 advantage. The Bears cut the margin down to four as WKU used their first timeout, up 21-17. The two went back-and-forth out of the stoppage as WKU claimed the set by a 25-20 score. The Hilltoppers logged three aces in the frame, one shy of their total from the night before.
SET TWO - WKU 25, MSU 22
Missouri State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before an errant attack put the Hilltoppers on the board. Skidmore logged the first successful attack of the frame, the fourth for her in the match for a 5-2 score. Izzy Van De Wiele became the seventh Hilltopper to tally a kill, still down by three. Rush connected with Van De Wiele to cut the margin down to one at 7-6. The Bears were first to double digits as WKU called timeout, trailing 10-6. Knox caught the Missouri State back line off for her third kill to push the Tops into double figures, trailing 12-10. The eighth kill for Young cut the deficit to one and forced the first Bear timeout. The second WKU timeout was taken as the Bears pushed their lead back to four at 17-13. Consecutive kills off the hand of Knox brought WKU within one and led to the second Missouri State timeout. The Bears were first to 20, but back-to-back kills from Laaksonen and Young evened the score. Laaksonen added another, and a bad attack capped off a 6-0 Hilltopper run for a 23-20 lead. Knox would fire off an ace to close the door on set two, winning 25-22.
SET THREE - WKU 25, MSU 13
A bad serve followed by Young and Laaksonen's consecutive kills gave the Tops the early edge in the frame. Now up two, another quick 3-0 flurry capped by a Van De Wiele kill forced the Bears into their first timeout, up 8-3. The second ace for Rush extended the lead to seven. Laaksonen pushed the point total to a dozen, still maintaining the seven point cushion. Rush found Young and Skidmore on consecutive plays for a 15-7 lead at the media break. Rush showed the attack skills, logging her first kill for a nine-point edge. A long rally ended with Rush and McKnight stuffing a block resulting in the final Missouri State timeout, still up nine at 19-10. McKnight's sixth kill of the afternoon pulled WKU past 20 points. The eight kill by Knox gave WKU a double-digit lead at 22-12. McKnight found some room in the middle to give WKU its first match point. Tayler Baron capped off the third just as Knox did in the second with an ace for a 25-13 win.
NOTABLES
- Faith Young led the offensive attack, accounting for a match best 14 kills on 23 attempts for a .565 hitting percentage.
- Eliza McKnight added nine kills and produced a team best .643 hitting clip. The freshman added two assists and a block.
- Saturday marked the fifth time in 2026 McKnight has finished with no errors from the attack line.
- Kaira Knox and Alivia Skidmore each finished with eight kills apiece. Knox stuffed the stat sheet adding three aces, two digs, and a block.
- Kate Rush assisted in 37 kills on Saturday. The sophomore added a season high 10 digs, two aces, two kills, and a block.
- Tayler Baron again led the team with 13 digs along with two aces. Baron secured the match winning point via her second ace of the day.
- As a team, WKU tallied 51 kills on 115 attempts, compiling a .339 hitting percentage.
- The 51 kills for WKU are the most they've had in a three-set match all-season.
- The Hilltoppers managed seven service aces, marking the most they've had in league play and the most since they logged seven against ETSU on Sept. 19.
- The all-time series mark between the Hilltoppers and Bears now stands at 6-1 in favor of WKU.
QUOTABLE
"Really happy, that's a team that's only tasted defeat three times all year and we got them twice within an 18 hour period. Still some bumps to work out but we're starting to see our team connect dots and get better and better." – head coach Travis Hudson on WKU's performance.
NEXT UP
WKU travels to Jacksonville, Ala. for a pair of matches against Jax State starting Friday, Oct. 9 First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streaming on ESPN+.
2026 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2026 CUSA Volleyball Tournament is coming to Bowling Green, Ky. Action from E.A. Diddle Arena runs Friday-Sunday, Nov. 20-22. Tickets will go on sale starting October 15.
FOLLOW THE TOPS
For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on X @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson @TravisHudsonWKU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
