WKU Volleyball team sweeps Troy, still in ‘state of shock’

Emily Patton

A weekend that the Lady Toppers never thought would end finally reached a sweet conclusion.

WKU (17-5, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) defeated Troy 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-11) on Saturday afternoon at Sartain Hall. The Lady Toppers have won nine of their last 10 matches without dropping a set in those victories.

The performance came after a sweep over South Alabama and after a near-death bus accident when the driver fell unconscious behind the wheel.

“Everyone in the WKU family should be very proud of this team,” WKU Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “They have been through a tremendous amount this weekend, and for them to go out and put together two solid wins like that really speaks to the character of these kids.”

WKU was given the choice by the Sun Belt offices to opt out of play this weekend but decided to continue on instead.

Five Lady Toppers had hitting percentages above .300, including senior outside hitter Emily Teegarden, who led the offense with eight kills, and junior middle hitter Tiffany Elmore, who had seven kills.

On the defensive side, sophomore libero Sarah Rogers led the team with 13 digs.

After taking a 9-7 lead in the first set, WKU then scored eight of the next 10 points to secure a 17-9 lead over Troy. The Lady Toppers closed out the set by scoring seven of the last eight points.

In the second set, WKU grabbed a 9-3 lead by scoring seven straight points. It never relinquished the lead again.

The third set concluded with the Lady Toppers going on a 16-1 stretch before winning 25-11.

“They certainly showed some toughness this weekend,” Hudson said. “We are all still pretty much in a state of shock, and we are trying to work through this.”