The Lady Topper volleyball team has had another successful start to the season with a 14-2 record, and on paper everything seems like it’s going according to plan.

However, Head Coach Travis Hudson is seeing something different.

“We still are giving away too many free ones,” Hudson said. “We have got to play with better discipline and consistency. If we don’t start doing those things it’s going to catch up with us in the win loss column.”

This year’s team has been relying heavily on the two junior All-Americans, outside hitter Alyssa Cavanaugh and setter Jessica Lucas.

“Offensively we are about as disjointed as one of my teams has been in a long time. We are very Alyssa Cavanaugh-dependent right now. I don’t like to be that kind of team. I think we need better balance,” Hudson said.

Both of the talented veterans have been putting up impressive numbers and winning individual awards as the season has progressed.

Coach Hudson wants there to be more of a rhythm among players on offense to even out the workload.

Coming up this weekend, the second week of conference play, the Toppers will be facing off against Louisiana Tech University and Middle Tennessee State University.

First, the Lady Toppers are headed to Ruston, Louisiana to take on the Bulldogs of La. Tech (8-7) Friday evening.

“La. Tech is a pretty similar team to a year ago,” Hudson said. “They play a different style. It’s hard to get in a rhythm and play against them. They are a much improved team over last year. They have a lot of the same players but he has done a great job with them in the off season.”

Last year, the Lady Toppers took down the Bulldogs in straight sets in Bowling Green.

On Sunday, WKU will square off against rival Middle Tennessee (4-11).

“Middle Tennessee is kind of in transition now,” Hudson said. “They have a new coach, a lot of new faces and I think they are just trying to find their footing a little bit in a new system and sometimes that takes a little while.”

The Toppers have been putting up impressive numbers defensively but Hudson still sees room for improvement offensively.

“That’s really where we are struggling the most,” Hudson said. “We are defending at a pretty good rate right now. We are one of the better offensive teams in the country but not so much right now, we are a little bit disjointed.”

Hudson knows that the team’s record looks good, but isn’t fully confident heading into this weekend of play.

“I know people judge things by wins and losses, but after 22 years of coaching I don’t do that anymore. I don’t need a win or a loss on game day to tell me if we are achieving at the level we are capable of,” Hudson said. “Right now we are not. Hopefully we can get some of those things corrected before it does show up on the scoreboard in a bad way.”