The Hilltoppers again were led offensively by the duo of Kaira Knox and Faith Young. The two combined for 25 of WKU's 45 total kills on Saturday. Young added six blocks, which matched a career best. The Hilltoppers operated at a .443 hitting clip in the match, successful on 45 of 88 total attempts, while compiling just six attack errors.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, ETSU 0
SET ONE - WKU 25, ETSU 13
The first three Hilltopper points came by way of a kill by Eliza McKnight, Young, and Alivia Skidmore for a 3-2 lead. McKnight and Skidmore followed with a block for a two-point edge. ETSU grabbed a one point lead at 6-5. Consecutive kills by McKnight and Kate Rush followed up by two straight aces off the hand of Tayler Baron highlighted a 6-0 run that forced the Bucs into a timeout, leading 11-6. The third WKU ace of the frame, this one by Skidmore, gave the Hilltoppers an eight point lead at the media timeout. Consecutive ETSU errors allowed WKU to take their largest lead of the day at 18-8, forcing the Bucs into their final timeout. A 3-0 ETSU run ensued to cut the lead down to seven. An errant serve pushed the WKU advantage back to eight. The first two kills for Knox pushed the Tops past 20 and back up nine. The first kill of 2026 for Izzy Van De Wiele extended the lead back to double digits. Knox capped a dominant first set with an ace and a 25-13 win.
SET TWO - WKU 25, ETSU 21
Young hammered a kill and Rush sent over an ace for a 2-1 WKU lead. Skidmore and McKnight combined for a block to push the Tops over five, still up two. The Bucs evened the score at six all before Rush fired a kill and Young stuffed a block for an 8-6 lead. Sonja Laaksonen pushed WKU into double digits with a block. The fourth block of the frame and the second for Laaksonen extended the lead to three. Consecutive kills from McKnight and Knox forced ETSU into a timeout at 14-10. Knox pushed her kill total to eight at the media break for a five point edge. The 27th kill of the afternoon for WKU was set up by Rush and knocked over by McKnight for a seven point lead. A successful challenge pushed WKU over 20, still maintaining the seven point margin. A quick 3-0 Buccaneer run cut the lead to four and forced a Hilltopper timeout. Young's kill and the sixth ace of the day for WKU, this time by Rush, snapped a 6-0 run for a 22-19 lead. Laaksonen and Van De Wiele combined for a block to reach set point and Knox finished things off with a kill for a 25-21 win.
SET THREE - WKU 25, ETSU 18
The Bucs jumped out to a 5-1 lead to start the third frame of action. Laaksonen and Skidmore kills and an attack error allowed the Hilltoppers to cut the deficit down to a pair. The second kill for Skidmore pushed WKU over five points, still trailing by two. The second block for Young in the set evened the score at nine all. Down 12-10, Knox logged a kill and Van De Wiele and Young combined to stuff a block and tie things up. The first Hilltopper lead came via the second kill for Van De Wiele. Knox sent the Hilltoppers into the media break with a two point advantage by way of her second ace. The 37th assist for Rush ended up in the hands of Young for a kill and three point lead, forcing ETSU to call timeout. The Bucs served one into the net as WKU reached 20 points, holding a five point edge. Young followed up with kill No. 12 and Laaksonen fired off her third for a 22-15 score, forcing the second Buccaneer timeout. A quick reaction by Rush and Young extended the lead to seven points. A pair of kills off the hand of Knox slammed the door shut on the Bucs for a 25-18 win and three set sweep.
NOTABLES
- Kaira Knox headlined the offensive effort on Saturday, totaling 13 kills on 19 attacks for a .579 hitting mark. The sophomore added three digs, two aces, and a block.
- Faith Young logged double digit kills for the fifth time in six matches. Young finished with 12 kills, two digs, and matched a career best in blocks with six.
- Young totaled 13 of WKU's 30 total blocks throughout action this week.
- Alivia Skidmore tallied the second most five blocks along with eight kills, six digs, and an ace.
- Eliza McKnight finished with five kills on eight attempts for a .625 mark to lead the team. The freshman added two blocks and a dig.
- Assisting efforts were again led by Kate Rush. Rush managed 38 assists along with five digs, two blocks, and two aces.
- Sonja Laaksonen and Izzy Van De Wiele combined for six blocks on the day, each finishing with three apiece. Laaksonen added three kills while Van De Wiele logged her first kills of 2026, tallying two.
- Nine Hilltoppers tallied at least one assist on Saturday. Tayler Baron led the effort with eight digs. Cali Foster and Kennedy Cherry finished with three each.
- The front line proved successful for WKU on Saturday. The Hilltoppers finished with 13, one shy of a season best while holding ETSU to just one.
- The Hilltoppers out hit the Buccaneers in the match, operating at a .443 clip while holding ETSU to just a .135 success rate. 45 of WKU's 88 total attacks were logged as kills.
- For WKU, the .443 mark is a season best and the six attack errors mark the fewest all year.
QUOTABLES
On the bounce-back win, head coach Travis Hudson said "Super proud of our group. Today was a character check. That was one of the toughest losses of my career just two days ago against Oklahoma. The final match of our non conference, a big match for us, our goal was to be at 6-6 or better and I'm really proud of how our kids responded today."
On the offense clicking in the match, sophomore setter Kate Rush said "It's just so fun, our passers had a great first set, and the whole game really, which made it so much easier to run the offense, and our hitters were outstanding today."
NEXT UP
WKU will open Conference USA play on the road at New Mexico State starting Friday, Sept. 25. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be streaming on ESPN+.
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.
