WKU returns to winning ways with 2-0 weekend
October 11, 2011
After last Tuesday’s loss to Middle Tennessee State at home snapped their 14-match winning streak, the Lady Toppers were focused on regaining some of that momentum over the weekend.
Two sets into their match on Friday night, they were right back on track.
WKU (19-2, 6-1) held Troy to nine and 10 points in the first two sets of their game on Friday, eventually winning the match in three sets.
“We needed to play good in those first two sets because we wanted to show everyone that we could bounce back after a loss,” sophomore setter Melanie Stutsman said.
Stutsman led the Lady Toppers in most offensive categories against Troy, including kills, hitting percentage and assists. She was able to record a match-leading 11 kills and had no errors in the match.
“I knew I was a big factor in the game against Troy last season so I came in prepared to help any way I could,” Stutsman said. “The defense really stepped up and gave me a lot of opportunities.”
The Lady Toppers’ success continued into Saturday. They beat South Alabama in three sets to complete a 2-0 weekend.
Senior middle hitter Tiffany Elmore, who led the team in kills and hitting percentage on Saturday, said while the loss to MTSU was disappointing, the team understands that the season will go on.
“Once conference started, we all decided that it was going to be 16 individual matches,” she said. “That’s one loss we’ve had so far, and we can’t worry about it. We’re planning on playing as strong as we did in the beginning of the year for the rest of the year.”
Head Coach Travis Hudson, like Stutsman, was pleased the team showed they could recover after a loss.
“This was a nice, bounce-back kind of weekend after that tough loss to Middle,” he said. “We have exactly 10 matches left on our schedule. There’s a lot of volleyball to be played, and we’re at a point in our season where you need to start playing well and doing the little things all of the time.”