HOW IT HAPPENED
EKU 3, WKU 1
SET ONE - WKU 25, EKU 16
The first point of the afternoon belonged to the Hilltoppers. Kate Rush fed Eliza McKnight for her first kill for a 3-2 WKU lead. Kaira Knox logged a pair of kills and followed that with consecutive aces for a 7-4 edge. McKnight tallied another kill and combined for a block with Rush to grab a five point lead and force EKU into their first timeout. A Colonel attack error pushed WKU into double digits, still maintaining the five point margin. A few EKU errors allowed the Tops to take a six point lead at 13-7. The next four points were split and WKU held a 15-9 lead at the media break. EKU broke 10 with their fifth kill before a service error pushed the lead back to a half dozen. Alivia Skidmore found a gap in the EKU front line for her second kill and a 19-13 lead to ignite a 3-0 run for WKU's largest lead of the day at eight. The Colonels came within six, not before WKU closed out the frame on a 5-1 run, capped by an ace from Faith Young.
SET TWO - EKU 25, WKU 23
A Colonel serving error gave WKU the first point of the second. Now even at three, Skidmore sent the EKU back line into chaos, logging her first kill of the frame for a 5-4 lead. McKnight dumped one down for a kill and Tayler Baron served off an ace for a 7-5 edge. The first kill of the day for Sears gave WKU a three-point cushion and the seventh for Knox pushed WKU into double digits at 10-7. The Colonels rolled off a 4-1 run to even things up at 11. A 3-0 run for EKU gave the Colonels their largest lead at the break at 15-12. Knox fired a kill out of the break in the action to cut into the deficit. Three straight kills for Young evened things up at 18 and forced an EKU timeout. The Colonels were first to 20 with a narrow 20-19 edge. Two more forced WKU into a timeout. A cross-court kill from Knox ended a 4-0 EKU run, down 23-19. A four hit violation pulled WKU over 20, trailing 24-20. Rush snuck one down to cut the deficit down to two and Knox followed with an ace for a 24-23 score. An errant serve would give the Colonels set two.
SET THREE - EKU 25, WKU 13
EKU claimed the first three points of the set before a bad serve put the Hilltoppers on the board. A 5-1 Colonel run allowed an 8-2 EKU lead to develop, forcing a WKU timeout. Skidmore then tallied a pair of kills and assisted McKnight in a block for an 8-5 score. Four straight for the Colonels pushed the deficit to seven. EKU maintained the seven point lead, up 15-8 at the break. The second kill for Knox made it a 15-9 score. Young found a way over the EKU defense for a kill, pushing the team over 10. A 3-0 run extended the deficit to nine, before Kendall Meller notched her first kill of the afternoon. The Colonels closed out the set on a 6-2 run.
SET FOUR - EKU 25, WKU 20
Rush stuffed a solo block for the first point of the set. Young pushed her kill total to a dozen for a 2-1 WKU lead. A 4-1 run allowed EKU to take a 7-4 lead. WKU was forced into a timeout following an ace, down 9-5. A Rush kill ended the 4-0 EKU run for an 11-6 score. Rush charted her second block of the frame to cut the margin down to four at 13-9. Young fired off a kill in between Colonel defenders, propelling WKU into double figures at 14-10. McKnight followed with one of her own for a three point margin. EKU led 15-11 at the media timeout. A 4-1 flurry resulted in a WKU timeout, trailing 19-12. The 12th kill for Knox followed up by her fourth and fifth aces of the day forced an EKU timeout, now within four. Skidmore capped off the run with a kill, down 19-16. Skidmore and Young combined for a pair of kills to bring the Tops within two, 21-19. EKU ended the frame on a 4-1 run, taking the set and match.
QUOTABLE
On the result, head coach Travis Hudson said "Great weekend overall, just a disappointing ending. We simply didn't play well enough to win today. Our team hasn't been able to sustain things, early on we were really good, as soon as Eastern (Kentucky) pushed back we kind of went away. It's not the first time that's happened this year, just the latest. We've got another week to figure that out before we get into conference play, and hopefully we can get that done"
NOTABLES
- Faith Young rounded out her impressive weekend with 17 kills on 26 attacks for a .577 hitting percentage. The junior added one ace and a dig in the effort.
- Young's 17 kills are a season high and two shy of a career best. Saturday marked the third consecutive match Young has logged 10+ kills and hit .400 or better.
- The .577 hit percentage for Young marks a season best, beating her previous, .533, against Dayton on Sept. 5.
- Kaira Knox added a dozen kills in the effort, along with a career high five aces, 10 digs, and two assists.
- Knox is the second Hilltopper this season to tally five service aces, matching Rush's total against SEMO on Aug. 28.
- Eliza McKnight was the third Hilltopper to hit double figures in kills with 10 even. The freshman added three blocks, two digs, and an assist.
- Kate Rush tallied 44 assists along with eight digs, four kills, and three blocks. Rush has logged 40+ assists in five of WKU's nine matches this season.
- Tayler Baron totaled 21 digs, two assists, and an ace. Baron finished with 20+ digs in two of WKU's three matches over the weekend.
NEXT UP
WKU will host Louisville on Wednesday, Sept. 16. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT. Tickets 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.
