After sweeping the Belmont Invitational last weekend, WKU hit its first bump in the road on Friday.

The Lady Toppers fell 3-0 to host Kentucky in their first of three matches at the Kentucky Invitational.

“We knew going in it was going to be a competitive match and that we were going to have to do the little things in order to have a chance to win,” Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “We really gave away some opportunities, leading almost every one of the games.”

WKU (3-1) led 22-19 in the first set before Kentucky scored four straight points to take a 23-22 lead. The Lady Toppers tied the match against at 23-23 on a kill by junior outside hitter Jordyn Skinner and then again at 24-24 on a kill by senior middle hitter Lindsay Williams.

But UK scored the final two points to win 26-24.

UK scored three of the final four points in the set to take the second set 25-23.

The third set went back and forth, featuring four lead changes. WKU was in front 20-17, but Kentucky scored four of the next five points to tie the match at 21-21 before taking the lead for good on the next point.

Skinner paced WKU with 14 kills, followed by Williams’ 10 kills.

Senior middle hitter Tiffany Elmore tallied seven kills and a team-best .385 hitting percentage while adding three blocks. Skinner also had three blocks.

Three different Lady Toppers recorded at least 10 digs. Sophomore libero Ashley Potts had 16 while junior Sarah Rogers finished with 12 digs.

“(Potts) was the one kid that really played well, even from a mental standpoint,” Hudson said. “She was the aggressor the entire match and really gave us a lift from the service line as well. We need continued play like that out of her because that will really benefit us as we go on from here.”

The Lady Toppers return to action Saturday for the second day of the Kentucky Classic. WKU will face Virginia Tech in the first match of the day at 12 p.m. The Lady Toppers play again at 4:30 p.m. against Ohio University.