BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Volleyball (1-1) split action on day one of the SEMO Tournament on Friday. WKU claimed a 3-0 win over SEMO but fell to Oregon in three sets in the nightcap.
The Hilltoppers downed SEMO in three straight sets to claim their first victory of the season. Kaira Knox led WKU in the effort with 11 kills. Kate Rush added a career high seven kills, five aces, and added 21 assists in the win. WKU held the Redhawks to a .069 hitting clip for a dominant 25-13 win in the second set.
WKU dropped a three set match to Oregon in match two of the day. WKU battled in the match, dropping each of the three sets by five points or fewer. Errors from the service line plagued both teams. WKU surrendered 23 points while Oregon gave up 17.
HOW IT HAPPENED
MATCH ONE - WKU 3, SEMO 0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-20)
SET ONE - WKU 25, SEMO 23
The Hilltoppers logged the opening serve of the 2026 season but a pair of Redhawk kills put WKU behind. A service error would get WKU on the board but a 6-2 SEMO run forced WKU into a timeout, trailing 8-3. At 9-4, Alivia Skidmore logged her first kill to bring WKU within four. SEMO would break 10 first, ahead 10-6. Now down six, Young found a gap in the defense and dumped one down. Sonja Laaksonen followed with her first kill for a 12-8 score. Knox logged her third kill to spark a 3-0 run and bring WKU within one, 13-14. Another 3-0 Hilltopper flurry evened the score for the first time 17-17, forcing SEMO into a timeout. A Kate Rush kill and ace would give WKU the lead to spark a 4-1 run. Rush would find Knox for the kill and give WKU a 25-23 set one victory. Knox logged eight kills in the first frame of action.
SET TWO - WKU 25, SEMO 13
SEMO would start the second set with a service error and Rush would serve up her second ace of the match to take the 2-0 lead. After a kill by Knox, SEMO would use a 3-0 run of their own to even the score. Back-to-back kills by Young and Knox would extend the lead back out to two. WKU would maintain at least a two-point lead and a SEMO service error would spark a 7-1 Hilltopper run for a commanding 20-11 lead in the set. Kendall Meller notched her first kill to put WKU up 21-12. Eliza McKnight and Skidmore would close out the second set with a pair of kills each and a 25-13 win. The Hilltoppers out slugged the Redhawks .324 to .069 in the second set.
SET THREE - WKU 25, SEMO 20
WKU would open up the third set on a 4-0 run, capped by Rush's fourth ace of the match. SEMO would roll off the next two before the Hilltoppers answered back with two of their own for a 6-2 advantage. Now up two, Young, Laaksonen, and Rush logged straight kills for a 12-7 lead. A 3-0 SEMO run would trim the WKU lead down to 14-12. A service error gave WKU a 15-12 edge at the media break. A long rally resulted in Skidmore finding a break in the back row to extend the lead to four. A 5-1 SEMO run would even the score at 17 all. The 12th SEMO service error gave WKU the lead back at 18-17. Both sides logged a point before WKU rolled off a 3-0 run for a 22-18 advantage, forcing SEMO into their second timeout. Leading 23-20, Rush found Young for her fifth kill and match point. An attack error would give WKU the set, 25-20 for a three set sweep over SEMO.
NOTABLES
- Kaira Knox led the offensive attack with 11 kills on 16 total attempts, for a .625 hitting percentage.
- Knox's 11 kills marked the 18th time the sophomore standout has finished with 10 or more kills in her Hilltopper career.
- Kate Rush stuffed the stat sheet against SEMO, tallying seven kills, 22 assists, five service aces, and a second best .538 attack mark.
- Her seven kills mark a career best.
- The five service aces for Rush mark the most since Tayler Baron logged five against Kennesaw State in the 2025 CUSA Tournament.
- Alivia Skidmore also logged seven kills in the effort.
- Baron led the defensive effort for the Hilltoppers against the Redhawks, finishing with 11 digs.
- Baron's 11 digs marked the 15th consecutive match the libero has logged double digit digs, dating back to Oct. 17 of 2025.
- Faith Young added five kills, four digs, and an assist in the three set sweep over SEMO.
- WKU outhit the Redhawks in the match, .296 to .117. WKU tallied 38 kills compared to SEMO's 29.
- The service line proved to be vital for the Hilltoppers as WKU managed six compared to one from SEMO.
MATCH TWO - WKU 0, Oregon 3 (23-25, 20-25, 23-25)
SET ONE - Oregon 25, WKU 23
Rush served up an ace to give WKU the early lead in the match. The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the Ducks fired back to even the score at three all. Knox logged her first kill of the match to give WKU the lead back at 8-7. That sparked a 3-0 run capped by Rush's second ace. Oregon again evened things at 12-all. Skidmore logged a kill and a block to push the Hilltopper lead to 15-12. Oregon rattled off four in a row to take their first lead of the frame at 16-15. Rush recorded her first kill and Young stuffed a block to take back the advantage. The Ducks were first to 20, taking a 21-19 lead, forcing WKU into their first timeout. Out of the break, Knox notched a kill and Laaksonen managed an emphatic block to tie the score and force Oregon into a timeout. The Ducks went on a 3-1 run and on their first set point, Knox recorded a block to make it 24-23 but a kill gave the Ducks the first set.
SET TWO - Oregon 25, WKU 20
The Hilltoppers claimed three of the first four points in the set. The Ducks took their first lead at 5-4 but McKnight logged a kill to even the score. Oregon matched their largest lead of the day, up 8-5, forcing the Tops to take a timeout. A service error stopped a 4-0 Oregon run for a 9-6 score. Skidmore logged her first ace of the day to cut the deficit back to three. Oregon then took their largest lead of the night of 14-8. Laaksonen's first kill of the match snapped the 6-0 run. Young pushed the Hilltoppers into double digits with a kill, down 15-10. Rush found McKnight for her third kill, trailing 18-11. Three straight Hilltopper points cut into the Oregon lead, 20-15. The Ducks took a timeout and Baron capped off a 7-0 run with her first ace to bring WKU within three. Oregon jumped back out to a five point lead but a service error snapped the streak for a 23-19 score. On Oregon's first set point Rush found Young for a kill to cut the deficit to four. A service error gave Oregon the second set.
SET THREE - Oregon 25, WKU 23
Seven of the first 10 points of the set were in favor of WKU for a 7-3 lead, highlighted by a Meller ace. Oregon's 13th serving error of the match pushed WKU to 10, ahead 10-7. The Ducks came within one but a stellar block from the veteran Meller and another ace off the hand of Rush gave WKU a 12-9 lead. A back-and-forth battle ensued and Skidmore's fourth kill sparked a 4-0 Hilltopper run, forcing the Ducks into a timeout as WKU had its largest lead of the match at 18-14. The Ducks scratched within one and another error from the service line stopped a 3-0 run for a 19-17 WKU lead. Young tapped one over the net to push the Hilltoppers to 20 points. After the Ducks evened the score, Young punched one over for her sixth kill and followed with a block for a 22-20 advantage. Oregon rebutted but another service error gave WKU the lead right back. Oregon rolled off three straight to take set three.
NOTABLES
- Knox led the offensive effort for the second straight match, logging 8 kills for a .385 hitting clip. She added two digs and a pair of blocks in the loss.
- Skidmore and Young each charted six kills apiece. Both also finished with two blocks.
- Young matched a team best .500 mark from the attack line.
- Rush finished with 19 assists, four digs, and four kills along with a .500 hitting mark.
- Tayler Baron added a team high seven digs of the team's 18 total.
- Freshman Eliza McKnight finished with three kills on seven attacks for a .429 hitting clip.
- Defensively, WKU totaled seven blocks in the match compared to Oregon's three.
QUOTABLE
On the day's performance head coach Travis Hudson stated Incredibly up and down day one of volleyball. Early in the year always seems to be that way. Tremendously disappointing serving performance tonight against Oregon. That never really gave us a chance to win. Hopefully tomorrow we find a little more rhythm.
NEXT UP
WKU will wrap up the SEMO Tournament on Saturday, August 29 with a rematch with the Redhawks. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT and will be streaming on ESPN+.
Follow The Tops: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on X at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
