DAYTON, Ohio – WKU Volleyball (3-2) defeated Wright State in three sets Friday evening at the Nutter Center.
With the win, WKU is now 3-0 in road matches with all three being clean sweeps. Kaira Knox led the offensive attack with 10 kills, four digs, three blocks, and two assists along with a .444 attack percentage. The Hilltoppers hit .400 or better in the final two frames for a match hitting percentage of .363. The Hilltoppers out hit the Raiders from the service line, logging nine aces compared to three for Wright State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, WSU 0
SET ONE - WKU 25, WSU 21
Three Raider kills opened up action in the first frame. Down 4-1, Sonja Laaksonen charted the first Hilltopper kill of the evening to spark a 4-0 run. After her career day on Thursday, Eliza McKnight logged her first kill for a 7-6 Hilltopper advantage. The Raiders broke 10 first with a two point lead. Knox's second kill of the day evened things up at 10. Rush followed and logged the first Hilltopper ace. Faith Young became the sixth Hilltopper to fire off a kill for a 12-11 WKU lead and sparked a 4-0 Hilltopper run, capped by an ace from Young for a 15-11 lead at the media break. Rush fed Knox, who found a way through the Raider defensive front for her third kill and a 17-14 edge. Skidmore joined Knox with her third successful attack, extending the WKU lead to four, forcing Wright State into a timeout, leading 19-15. Faith Young pushed WKU past 20 with her second kill of the day. Rush fired off her second service ace to extend the lead to five, forcing the Raiders into their second timeout, up 22-17. A pair of kills from Young capped by McKnight's second kill gave WKU set one, 25-21
SET TWO - WKU 25, WSU 22
The Hilltoppers struck first in the set with a kill off the hand of Laaksonen, followed by a McKnight and Young block, capped by Rush's third ace of the day. The sixth Raider attack error gave WKU a three point, 6-3 advantage. Laaksonen's fourth kill pushed WKU into double figures with a 10-7 advantage. Through the first 20 points of the set, WKU held a 12-8 lead over the Raiders. Knox fired off a kill to maintain the four point lead, now at 14-10. A McKnight kill and a Raider attack error pushed the WKU lead to five at 18-13. A 3-0 Raider run cut the lead down to two. Rush and Young then stuffed a block for a 20-18 advantage. The Raiders evened the set at 20-all, forcing the Hilltoppers into a timeout. The Raiders then took their first lead of the set at 22-21. McKnight and Laaksonen combined for the sixth Hilltopper block to even the score. Skidmore fired off a kill to take the lead back at 23-22, forcing a Raider timeout. Knox's seventh kill pushed the Tops to 25 for a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Hilltoppers closed out the set on a 4-0 run.
SET THREE - WKU 25, WSU 21
A trio of aces for Kate Rush gave the Tops an early three-point cushion. An attack error followed by a Young kill extended the lead to 5-0. The Raiders tallied three in a row before Laaksonen tabbed her fifth kill for a three point lead. The Raiders broke 10 first, aided by a 4-0 run. McKnight fired off a kill to even the score 20 points in. Skidmore's first ace of the night evened things at a dozen apiece. Young and Laaksonen both tallied kills to take the lead back at 14-12. Young garnered the ninth team ace of the match for a 16-14 edge. Knox became the first Hilltopper in double figures with her 10th kill and a 20-17 lead. Kate Rush notched a kill for a 23-19 advantage, forcing Wright State into a timeout. Out of the break, Laaksonen logged a kill and Young fired off her ninth kill for a 25-21 win.
QUOTABLE
On the effort, head coach Travis Hudson said Good quality bounce back win. Wright State is a tough team with a tradition of winning. It will take another tremendous effort tomorrow if we hope to compete with A-10 favorite Dayton.
NOTABLES
- Kaira Knox led the offensive charge on Friday, logging 10 kills on 18 attempts for a .444 hitting clip. Knox added four digs, three blocks, and a pair of assists.
- For Knox, Friday marks the 19th occasion of recording 10 or more kills in a match.
- Sonja Laaksonen and Faith Young both finished with nine kills apiece. Young added two aces in the effort.
- Young finished with a team best .500 attack percentage.
- Kate Rush led the Hilltoppers from the service line with six aces. The setter added 33 assists, three digs, two blocks, and two kills on Friday.
- The six aces for Rush mark a career best. The sophomore has tallied five or more from the service line in two of WKU's five matches so far this season.
- Alivia Skidmore and Elza McKnight both added six kills. McKnight added three blocks and three digs while Skidmore contributed WKU's lone solo block and an ace.
- The defensive effort was led by Tayler Baron and Kennedy Cherry. Baron tallied 12 while Cherry notched seven.
- As a team, the Hilltoppers combined for nine service aces on 74 attempts for an .865 mark from the service line.
- After hitting .263 in the first frame, WKU managed a .476 mark in the second and .406 in the third for a match attack percentage of .363. The Hilltoppers held the Raiders to a .158 hitting clip in the second set.
- WKU's seven total blocks match a season high.
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers round out the tournament against Dayton on Saturday, Sept. 5. First serve is set for 12 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.
