The Hilltoppers fell behind 2-1, but rallied for their 12th straight win and their third five-set win of 2026. Defense was the headline as WKU totaled 18 blocks, the most in a match since 2017, and held FIU to a .088 hitting percentage. The Hilltoppers notched 71 digs, marking a season high. Faith Young led all scorers with 16 kills along with seven blocks. Kaira Knox added 15 and 10 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, FIU 2 (29-27, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-8)
SET ONE - WKU 29, FIU 27
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before a long serve put the Tops on the board. Eliza McKnight logged the first kill for WKU to cut the deficit to one. A bad attack evened the score at four all. Another error followed by an ace for Tayler Baron and the first kill for Young allowed a 7-4 WKU lead to develop. The first kill for Kate Rush pushed the Tops into double digits, holding a one-point lead. Three of the next four went FIU's way for a 12-11 score. Down two, Young stuffed a solo block at 16-15. Straight kills from Rush and Knox evened things at 18 all. FIU answered with two of their own to force a WKU timeout, down 20-18. Alivia Skidmore's first ace and the second for WKU knotted the score at 20. Trailing again, the fourth kill for Knox yet again evened the score. FIU grabbed their first set point off an ace to force a Hilltopper timeout, down 24-22. The second kill for Kendall Meller brought WKU within one and forced the final FIU timeout. The second block for Young tied the score at 24. Rush found some space for a 25-25 score. An attack error gave the Tops their first set point, leading 27-26. Knox pushed her kill total to five for the second set point, 28-27. An attack went long for WKU to take the first set 29-27. Knox led WKU with six kills on eight tries for a .833 hitting clip in the frame.
SET TWO - FIU 25, WKU 22
The eighth FIU attack error gave the Tops the first point of the second set. Knox and Izzy Van De Wiele stuffed a block for the second point. After FIU got on the board a 4-0 run ensued, capped by a Skidmore ace, forcing an FIU timeout, up 5-1. Out of the break, two more went WKU's way with one coming via the second block by Van De Wiele before FIU ended the 6-0 Hilltopper run. Young slammed one over the FIU front-line to push the Tops into double digits at 10-4. A 4-0 FIU run cut the lead down to a pair. The first kill for Van De Wiele kept the lead at two, this time 13-11. A 4-0 Panther scoring run gave FIU a two point lead at 16-14. Rush connected with Skidmore who went up high for a kill to bring WKU within one at 18-17. An errant attack tied the set at 18. Van De Wiele pushed her block total to three, giving the Tops a 20-19 edge, forcing the second Panther timeout. Knox powered one over with her eighth kill and a 21-21 tie. Even at 22, straight FIU points forced the first WKU timeout. An ace would give the Panthers the set, 25-22.
SET THREE - FIU 25, WKU 22
Two kills by Knox got things going in set three. Rush added an ace for a 3-0 edge. FIU sent one long and Rush fired off her second ace for a five-point lead, forcing the first Panther timeout. Rush set up Van De Wiele to add to the lead with her third kill. After a couple FIU points, WKU pushed the lead back to five. Like the second set, a 4-0 run cut the WKU lead down to one, forcing the first Hilltopper timeout at 7-6. A 3-0 Hilltopper run followed, highlighted by the seventh Hilltopper block, pushing the lead back to four. Assist 27 for Rush ended up in the hands of Young for her 10th successful attack. WKU maintained the three point lead at the media timeout. Nine of their 15 points came by way of the kill. Out of the break, a 6-0 FIU run forced a WKU timeout, down 18-15. A serving error followed up by the 12th kill for Knox brought WKU within two at 20-18. Down four, Young's sixth kill of the frame pulled WKU within, 23-20. Another from Young forced an FIU timeout. A block by Young and Skidmore brought WKU within one but FIU would take the next two for a 25-22 set win.
SET FOUR - WKU 25, FIU 21
FIU jumped out to a 3-0 lead to open the fourth. An error and Van De Wiele's fifth block made it 3-2. Down a pair, Meller logged straight kills to even the score at five-all. Three in a row capped by the 12th Panther ace forced the first timeout, trailing 8-5. Meller's sixth kill followed by Young's fifth block brought the Tops within one. Young painted the back corner, tying things up at nine apiece to jumpstart a 5-0 run for a 13-9 lead. The next two points, aided by a Rush solo block and kill, gave WKU a 15-9 edge at the media timeout. After a 4-1 FIU run, Rush stuffed her second solo block for a 17-13 score. McKnight pushed the WKU kill total to 48 for a 19-15 lead, backing FIU into their final timeout. Meller's seventh kill and an errant FIU attack pushed the advantage to seven at 21-15. A few errors from both sides made it a 23-18 score. Rush connected with Skidmore for set point. On the third try, Rush found McKnight for her fourth kill, winning 25-21, to force a fifth set.
SET FIVE - WKU 15, FIU 8
The first two points of the frame went FIU's way. Skidmore fired off her sixth kill followed up by a block by Knox and Van De Wiele. A bad set gave WKU a 3-2 lead. Two more errors forced the first FIU timeout. Van De Wiele and Knox combined for another block and Knox pushed her kill total to 14 to extend the lead. The fourth FIU error of the set gave WKU an 8-2 edge, forcing the final FIU timeout. The Panthers ended the 8-0 Hilltopper run via an attack error. Knox elevated for the kill and a 9-4 WKU lead. Two straight from FIU resulted in a WKU timeout. Meller pushed the block total to 17 for an 11-8 edge. Four more followed as WKU took the fifth set, 15-8, closing the set out on a 6-1 run.
NOTABLES
- With the win, WKU improves to 17-6 and 11-0 in CUSA play, winners of their last 12.
- Friday marked the fifth five set match of the season. WKU is 3-2 in those instances, including a 2-0 mark in league play.
- The win marks the 30th straight for WKU over FIU. Each of the last four wins have gone five sets.
- The Hilltoppers were dominant defensively, logging 18 total blocks and 71 digs while holding FIU to a .088 hitting percentage, forcing the Panthers into 40 attack errors.
- The 18 team blocks for WKU are the most in a match since they stuffed 23 on Sept. 8, 2017 against Pittsburgh.
- The Hilltoppers 40 forced errors on FIU marked the most all season. The .088 hitting clip is the second lowest opponent hitting clip WKU has allowed in 2026.
- WKU's 71 digs mark the most in a match since they logged 75 against Sam Houston on Oct. 18, 2025.
- Faith Young led all scorers with 16 kills along with seven blocks and three digs, operating at a .593 hitting clip.
- Kaira Knox added 15 kills, 10 digs, five blocks, and three assists. For Knox, Friday marks her sixth instance of 15+ kills in a match and the third consecutive.
- Kate Rush dished out 47 assists, adding 13 digs, three kills, three blocks, and a pair of aces. Rush's 13 digs are a new career best.
- Kendall Meller set a new season high in kills, adding seven along with three digs and two blocks.
- Izzy Van De Wiele matched Young's block total with seven. The senior added three kills, one dig, and an assist.
- Tayler Baron anchored the back-line, logging 20 of WKU's 71 total digs. The libero also managed an ace and an assist. Baron has garnered 20+ digs in five matches.
- Alivia Skidmore matched Rush's team best two aces along with five kills.
QUOTABLE
"First of all… FIU deserves a lot of credit. They played well and put a lot of pressure on us. Proud of our team for just hanging in there." - Head Coach Travis Hudson on the five-set win.
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers wrap up action at FIU on Saturday, Oct. 31. First serve from Ocean Bank Convocation Center is set for 11 a.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. All-session passes are on sale now and can be purchased HERE.
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.
