The Hilltopper offense was a balanced one with nine players managing two-plus kills. All 14 Hilltoppers saw the floor and were led by Kaira Knox who charged all scorers with nine kills while operating at a .643 hitting clip. WKU out hit Jax State in the match, .402 to .122, logging an even 40 kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, JAX STATE 0
SET ONE - WKU 25, Jax State 21
Jax State started action with an ace. Eliza McKnight fired off a kill to spark a 3-0 run to jump out to a 3-1 lead. Faith Young's second successful attack pushed the Hilltoppers into double digits, holding a four-point edge. The Gamecocks pulled within a pair, with WKU up 12-10. The Hilltopper lead dropped to one before consecutive points extended the margin back to three at the media break, highlighted by the third kill for Knox. Alivia Skidmore fired off consecutive aces to push the edge to four points, up 17-12. Young stuffed a solo block, the first of the night, and Knox followed, tallying the fourth WKU ace for a five-point lead at 20-15, forcing a Gamecock timeout. The Hilltoppers added another point for their largest lead. A 3-0 run by the Gamecocks ensued before Skidmore logged her fourth kill for a 25-21 set win.
SET TWO - WKU 25, Jax State 11
A pair of Izzy Van De Wiele kills, and the first ace for Kate Rush allowed WKU to take control early for a 4-0 lead. A Gamecock kill snapped the run, but three more Hilltopper points forced the first Jax State timeout, now up six at 7-1. Two of WKU's first seven points came by way of the ace. Tayler Baron added to the success from the service lines, pushing the lead to eight at 10-2. Aubrey Sears painted the back line for the 12th Hilltopper point of the frame. Young logged the eighth WKU ace to send the two into the break, holding a 10 point, 15-5 lead. The sixth Gamecock attack saw the Tops leading by a 16-8 margin. A Van De Wiele kill and block bookended an 8-0 WKU run, to take a commanding 24-9 lead. The Hilltoppers totaled five kills in the run. Two quick Gamecocks points made it a 24-11 score before the fourth kill for Sears slammed the door shut in the second set. The Hilltoppers hit at a .500 clip in the frame while holding Jax State to a mere .038 mark.
SET THREE - WKU 25, Jax State 13
WKU jumped out to an early lead before the Gamecocks grabbed their first lead of the night at 4-3. The first kill as a Hilltopper for Baron tied the score at four apiece. Jax State then jumped out to an 8-6 edge. Consecutive points from Rush via a kill and ace evened the score. The Hilltoppers broke 10 first and added three more, capped by the third Van De Wiele block, forcing the first Jax State timeout, holding a 14-9 lead. Kendall Mellar and Knox each fired off a kill in the run. Baron pushed the WKU ace total to 10 with her third of the night, followed by a bad Gamecock set for an 18-10 score and the final timeout for Jax State. The second ace for Knox saw WKU take a 20-11 advantage. Young and Rush combined for a block to extend the margin back to double digits. Young connected with Rush for her third kill and a 23-12 lead. Izzie Delacher fed McKnight for the kill and a 25-13 win for WKU's third consecutive sweep.
NOTABLES
- The Hilltoppers out-hit the Gamecocks in the match .402 to .122. WKU has held their opponent to a sub .200 hitting percentage five times this season.
- Friday marks the third time this season and the first in league play of hitting .400 or better.
- WKU finished with 10 aces in the win, marking the third time in 2026 WKU has tallied 10-plus in the category.
- The Hilltoppers held Jax State to 23 kills, the fewest WKU has allowed all season
- 10 Hilltoppers logged at least one kill on Friday night, with nine tallying multiple.
- Kaira Knox led all scorers with nine kills on 14 attacks and no errors, operating at a .643 hitting clip. The sophomore added four digs, two aces, and two blocks.
- Alivia Skidmore added seven kills along with a team best three service aces.
- Faith Young and Izzy Van De Wiele each managed four kills on a .500 hitting mark. Both stuffed three blocks as well. Young added two assists and an ace.
- Two more Hilltoppers in Aubrey Sears and Eliza McKnight finished with four in the kill column on Friday.
- Kate Rush stuffed the stat sheet, tallying 30 assists, four digs, three kills, two aces, and a block.
- Tayler Baron anchored the back line with 14 digs. The libero matched a team best three aces along with an assist and her first kill as a Hilltopper.
QUOTABLE
"Rough start to the day in set one with too many unforced errors, but we played well in sets two and three. Proud of how we responded" – head coach Travis Hudson on the win
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers will matchup with the Gamecocks again on Saturday, Oct. 10. First serve from Pete Mathews Coliseum is set for 1 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.
