The win marks the 31st consecutive win over FIU in the series dating back to 1986. The Hilltoppers held the Panthers to a .089 hitting percentage in the match, forcing 24 errors. Faith Young led the Tops to round out the weekend, firing off 10 kills, three blocks, two aces, and two digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, FIU 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20)
SET ONE - WKU 25, FIU 17
Much to the chagrin of Friday, the first Hilltopper point was secured by an Izzy Van De Wiele and Alivia Skidmore block. Three FIU errors gave WKU a 4-3 lead. Young dinked one just past the reach of the net, Tayler Baron logged the first ace, and Kaira Knox fired off a kill for a four-point lead to force an FIU timeout. Up 9-5, a 4-0 Panther run evened things up. Kendall Meller's first kill pushed WKU into double digits. Skidmore became the fourth Hilltopper to garner a successful attack. Another for the outside hitter followed up by an error pushed the margin to three. Skidmore tallied another and Van De Wiele got on the board for a 15-11 edge. The first ace for Kate Rush and Skidmore's fourth kill pushed the lead to six. Knox fired off the 10th kill of the day for WKU, forcing the second Panther timeout, up 18-12. Straight kills off the hand of Meller pushed the margin to eight at 21-13. Meller and Young walled up at the net for a nine point lead. The fourth FIU serving error gave WKU set point and on the second try Rush fed Knox for a 25-17 win. The Tops limited FIU to eight kills and forced a .079 hitting mark in the frame.
SET TWO - WKU 25, FIU 23
FIU jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the frame. Van De Wiele hammered down a kill to stop the run. The first kill for Eliza McKnight kept WKU within three at 5-2. Knox and Young combined for the third block to pull within a pair. Three in a row for the Panthers forced the first WKU timeout, trailing by five. Rush dished one up to Young for a kill to snap the streak. Knox became the third Hilltopper with an ace in the stat sheet for an 8-5 score. Young's fourth kill brought WKU within two, forcing a Panther timeout. Young grabbed another to pull within one but two in a row for FIU moved the deficit back to three. Another 3-0 run for FIU, capped by an ace, extended the margin to four at 16-12. McKnight's third kill and Young's sixth cut the deficit in half. The third 3-0 flurry for FIU forced WKU to burn its second timeout, now down five. A service error and a Knox ace resulted in a 19-16 score. Two of the next three went WKU's way to force an FIU timeout, trailing 20-18. Three straight errors evened the score at 21-all. Young's first ace gave WKU its first lead of the set. McKnight fired a kill in a back and forth battle, then Van De Wiele and Knox stuffed a block for the first WKU set point. The 15th FIU error of the day gave WKU a come from behind 25-23 second set win. The Hilltoppers closed out the frame on an 11-4 run.
SET THREE - WKU 25, FIU 20
The fifth Hilltopper block of the afternoon secured the first point, followed up by an FIU attack error for a 2-0 edge. Two straight Panther errors pushed the Tops past five, leading 5-2. FIU strung together three points to even the score. Young's seventh kill took the lead back. Straight kills for FIU gave them their first lead of the set. Skidmore stuffed the first solo block of the day for an 8-8 score. McKnight guided the Tops into double figures via her fifth kill. Kill 30 on the day for WKU was credited to Van De Wiele for an 11-10 edge. The Hilltoppers used a 4-0 run, capped by a block from Knox and Young, to send the two into the media timeout, leading 15-11. The ninth kill for Young added to the margin at five now, 17-12. Young's 10th kill kept the lead at five. Three in a row for FIU cut the WKU lead down to two at 18-16, forcing a timeout. The first kill for Rush pushed WKU past 20, holding on to a three-point margin. Meller and Van De Wiele logged the ninth block for a four point lead, forcing the final FIU stoppage. The Panthers pulled within three at 23-20. A service error gave WKU its first match-point chance. Baron fired off her third ace of the day to complete the three-set sweep over FIU.
NOTABLES
- With the win, WKU improves to 18-6 and 12-0 in CUSA play, winners of their last 13.
- The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series with FIU 50-8, taking each of the last 31 matchups.
- WKU's last sweep over the Panthers took place on Nov. 4, 2023 in Bowling Green.
- WKU held FIU under a .100 hitting clip for the second consecutive match, this time forcing them to operate at a .089 clip.
- The last time WKU held their opponent under .100 in consecutive matches was against Delaware on Nov. 7-8, 2025.
- The Hilltoppers doubled up FIU from the service line finishing with eight aces compared to the Panthers' four.
- Faith Young charged the offense on Saturday, logging 10 kills, three blocks, two digs, and two aces. Young has tallied 10+ kills in 15 matches this season.
- Kaira Knox and Alivia Skidmore combined for 12 kills as each tallied six. Knox stuffed the stat sheet, adding nine digs, four blocks, two aces, and an assist.
- Eliza McKnight added five kills, the most since she tallied nine on Oct. 3 against Missouri State.
- Kate Rush dished out 29 assists, complimented by five digs and a kill.
- Tayler Baron led WKU in the serving column with three aces to her name. The libero added a team best 13 digs along with two assists.
- Izzy Van De Wiele led the net defense with five blocks, three kills, and a dig.
- Kendall Meller logged four kills, four digs, and two blocks. Her four digs are a season and career high.
QUOTABLE
"Really nice performance on a short turnaround. We were much better in serve and pass today which allowed everything to run more smoothly offensively. Proud of our group." - Head Coach Travis Hudson on the sweep.
NEXT UP
WKU will close out the regular season home slate with Liberty, starting Friday, Nov. 6. 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. 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.
