TOURNAMENT INFO
- Houck Field House | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
- Tournament Central
- Match Notes
- SEMO | Friday, August 28 | 12 PM CT
- ESPN+ | Live Stats | Listen
- Oregon | Friday, August 28 | 6 PM CT
- No TV Broadcast | Live Stats | Listen
- SEMO | Saturday, August 29 | 12 PM CT
- ESPN+ | Live Stats | Listen
ABOUT THE TOPS
- The Hilltoppers return 10 from the 2025 CUSA Championship squad that finished 27-6 (15-1 CUSA), including CUSA Defensive Player of the Year Izzy Van De Wiele and Freshman of the Year, Kaira Knox.
- Five of the 10 returners in 2026 were named All-CUSA. Knox, Alivia Skidmore, Van De Wiele, and Faith Young received first team honors and Tayler Baron was named second team.
- The four additions to the roster include sophomore transfer from Houston, Aubrey Sears. Sears, a native of Russellville, Ky. played high school volleyball at nearby Logan County.
- Three freshmen come to The Hill for 2026 in Izzie Delacher, Cali Foster, and Eliza McKnight.
- Alivia Skidmore was the Hilltopper leader in kills in 2025, tallying 370 in 108 sets of work. Faith Young also surpassed 300 kills in 2025, totaling 301 in 33 matches played.
- As a team, WKU logged 1,575 kills and a .313 attack percentage, while holding opponents to a .184 hitting clip.
- Defensively, WKU managed 1,516 digs throughout the 2025 campaign.
- Last week, five Hilltoppers were named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference team in Baron, Knox, Skidmore, Van De Wiele, and Young.
- Skidmore was also tabbed as the CUSA Preseason Player of the Year for a Hilltopper team that was picked to finish atop the league standings, taking nine of 10 possible first place votes.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
- In 2025, SEMO finished with a 21-13 mark and finished 12-6 in Ohio Valley Conference Play.
- Two Redhawks were named to the OVC Players to Watch list in Katy St. John and Reagan Nelson. SEMO was tabbed to finish second place in the league.
- As a team in 2025, SEMO logged 1,696 kills compared to 593 errors for a .231 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Redhawks logged 2,113 digs and 260.0 total blocks.
- Last season, the Redhawks were led by Lucy Arndt who tallied 417 total kills for 3.34 kills/set. Kara Oxenknecht finished with a team best .419 attack percentage.
- Defensively, Holland Gulliams recorded 2.65 digs/set, and Alaina Lester managed 0.92 blocks/set.
SEMO SERIES HISTORY
- Friday's matchup will mark the eighth ever meeting between WKU and SEMO.
- SEMO currently holds the all-time series edge at 4-3.
- The Hilltoppers won the last matchup on Sept. 11, 2004 in a three-set sweep.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
- Oregon finished the 2025 campaign with a 17-13 record and an 8-12 mark in Big Ten play.
- Alanah Clemente was named to the 2026 AVCA DI Player of the Year preseason watch list. Clemente alongside Valentina Vaulet was named to the All-Big Ten Preseason Team.
- The Ducks logged a total of 1,527 kills in 2025 and finished with a .253 attack percentage. Defensively, the team managed 1,320 digs and 259.0 total blocks.
- Alanah Clemente led the Oregon offensive effort in 2025, finishing with 412 kills and an average of 3.89 per set. Iva Sucurovic led the team with a .362 hitting percentage.
- Defensively, Reese Sheppard logged an average of 2.54 digs/set and Sucurovic tallied a team best 1.09 blocks/set.
OREGON SERIES HISTORY
- Friday night's meeting will mark the first ever between WKU and Oregon.
- Oregon has been playing volleyball since 1968 and holds an all-time program record of 496-390.
- The Ducks have appeared in 21 NCAA Tournaments over the course of the program's history, appearing in one national championship match back in 2012.
- Oregon plays their home matches at Matthew Knight Arena, also the home to the Ducks Men's and Women's Basketball programs.
HILLTOPPER ASSIST
The Hilltopper Assist is a scholarship donation from the Wiseman Family for WKU Students. The scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship for eligible WKU Students for the following matches: Pepperdine on Thursday, Sept. 10, Louisville on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and Oklahoma on Thursday, Sept. 17. In order to participate in the lottery, a minimum of 100 students must be in attendance for each match. The winner will be announced between the second and third sets of the matches listed above. A student can only win the lottery one time.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets and single game tickets for the 2026 Hilltopper Volleyball Season can be purchased HERE.
Follow The Tops: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyballand head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
