The Hilltoppers were led by Eliza McKnight, who managed a career best 13 kills. Kate Rush logged 44 assists for a new career high. As a team, WKU managed 11 service aces, the most in a match since the 2024 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
BALL STATE 3, WKU 1
SET ONE - WKU 25, Ball State 20
The Hilltoppers rolled off five of the first six points in the frame, capped by a pair of aces off the hand of Faith Young. McKnight's first kill and the third for WKU gave the Tops a four-point lead at 6-2. The Cardinals cut into the WKU lead, trailing by three before Alivia Skidmore sent WKU into double figures with a kill and a 10-6 advantage. Young's third ace pushed WKU to a 14-10 lead. At the media timeout, WKU maintained the four-point lead at 15-11. Rush found McKnight for her fifth kill and a five-point lead. Kaira Knox's first service ace of the match made it 18-12 and forced the Cardinals into a timeout. An attack error pushed the Tops to 20 points, still maintaining the six point lead. The Cardinals would cut the lead down to three, but a serving error followed by a Kennedy Cherry ace gave WKU set point, up by five. Out of the break, Ball State logged a point, but Knox would close the door on set one with a kill and a 25-20 win.
SET TWO - Ball State 25, WKU 20
The Cardinals opened the second frame with an ace. Young fired off consecutive kills to spark a 4-0 WKU run. Six consecutive points for Ball State forced WKU into a timeout, trailing 7-4. Young tallied her sixth kill in 10 attempts to stop the run out of the stoppage. Ball State broke 10 points first ahead by a four-point margin. Knox hammered down her third kill to keep the margin at four, trailing 11-7. Tayler Baron served up WKU's sixth ace of the match to bring WKU within, 12-9. Young connected with Skidmore for the easy kill and Young stuffed a block to make it a 13-11 margin. Kendall Meller found some space in the back corner, and Ball State faulted an attack to bring the Hilltoppers within one. The Cardinals held a three-point advantage at the media break. Meller's second kill brought the Tops back within two at 16-14. Ball State jumped back out to a five-point lead, aided by a 3-0 run. Back-to-back McKnight kills brought WKU back within three. Skidmore later tallied WKU's 13th kill of the frame to keep the deficit at three. Now down five, an attack error and Meller kill forced Ball State into a timeout, trailing 25-23. The Cardinals responded with two consecutive to claim the second set.
SET THREE - Ball State 25, WKU 17
The Cardinals garnered the first two points of the third set. A serving error put the Hilltoppers on the board. McKnight became the first Hilltopper to reach 10 kills and sparked a 4-0 run for a 5-3 Hilltopper lead. After the Cardinals snapped the run, Skidmore pushed the lead back to a pair with her fifth kill. Young tallied her seventh kill for the 10th WKU point of the set. A Cardinal attack error forced a timeout with the Tops leading 11-8. Up 12-10, a 3-0 Cardinal run gave Ball State the lead back, forcing WKU into a timeout, trailing 13-12. Skidmore ended a 9-1 Ball State run, down 16-13. Both sides would add three more, but the Cardinals were first to break 20, leading 20-16. Young and Meller notched the sixth WKU block for a 20-17 score. Ball State closed the frame on a 5-0 run for a 2-1 match lead.
SET FOUR - Ball State 25, WKU 21
The Cardinals jumped out to a 6-0 advantage to start the fourth frame and force WKU into their first timeout. The first Hilltopper point came off a Young kill to snap a 7-0 run. The sixth kill for Knox made it an 8-2 score. McKnight pushed her kill total to a dozen for the third point of the set. Back-to-back kills by Knox and Rush, and an ace brought WKU within four at 10-6. The Cardinals proceeded to roll off five straight before McKnight ended the run with her second kill of the set. Rush found Skidmore on the left side, and Baron served up an ace to bring WKU within, 14-9. Trailing by five, Aubrey Sears sparked a 5-0 WKU run, highlighted by back-to-back Rush aces, bringing the Tops within one. Now down, 21-17, Knox tallied consecutive kills for a two-point margin. Ball State would log four of the final six points to take the fourth set, 25-2.
NOTABLES
- Eliza McKnight set a new career best in kills to lead WKU with 13. She added two digs, an assist, and a block in the effort.
- Kate Rush finished one dig shy of a double-double with 44 assists, nine digs, four kills, two aces, and a block on Thursday.
- The 44 assists for Rush mark a career best and the second consecutive match the setter has logged 40-plus.
- Faith Young added 11 kills along with five digs, three aces, and three assists. Her three aces match a career best.
- Tayler Baron led the defensive effort with 18 digs. The junior added three aces and an assist.
- Kaira Knox finished with nine kills, six digs, and a pair of aces.
- Alivia Skidmore added eight kills, two digs, and a block.
- The Hilltoppers' 11 aces on Thursday mark the most since they tallied 13 against Marist on Sept. 6, 2024.
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers continue action at the Beavercreek Invitational against host Wright State on Friday, Sept. 4. First serve is set for 5 p.m. CT with audio streaming on the Varsity Network.
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.
