WKU volleyball stayed hot Tuesday, Oct. 8 and Wednesday, Oct. 9, defeating rival Middle Tennessee in two games at Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers came out strong again in game one against MTSU, sweeping their eighth match in a row.
The Hilltoppers took the second game in the doubleheader, 3-1, improving to 6-0 on conference play.
Game One
WKU came out strong early with a 4-0 run and never looked back, winning the set 25-16. Sophomore middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele led with four kills, and senior outside hitter Kaylee Cox added on with three. Van De Wiele also had a big set on defense with four blocks.
The dominance continued in the second set with a 25-17 victory. Van De Wiele anchored the defense with three blocks, and Cox led the offense with four kills. Redshirt junior setter Callie Bauer added two service aces.
MTSU fought back in the final set, trying to avoid the sweep. The set came down to the wire, as the Blue Raiders got within one, 24-23. The Hilltoppers showed resilience and put the Blue Raiders away, winning the set 25-23 and cementing their eighth sweep in a row. Senior right side hitter Kenadee Coyle took over with six kills, and freshman middle hitter Faith Young added two blocks to help the defense.
In the sweep, Coyle broke the all-time single-game hitting percentage record with a perfect 1.000 scoring on all ten of her swings.
Game Two
The Hilltoppers came out in the first set and attempted to pull away. MTSU kept it close, being down only four, 13-9, before an unsuccessful challenge by the coaching staff of the Blue Raiders led to WKU pulling away and taking set one 25-16.
To begin the second set the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 7-3 lead before MTSU had the answers making it only a 9-7 WKU lead. The Hilltoppers pulled away in the set via the swing of Cox and Coyle. The Hilltoppers were able to halt any momentum from the Blue Raiders as WKU took set two 25-14.
It appeared MTSU finally figured the Hilltoppers out in set three as they jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. After a much needed timeout WKU regrouped and made it a 10-9 MTSU advantage. After WKU recovered both teams traded points. Late in the set MTSU pulled away and forced a fourth set, winning 25-22.
The set loss was the first for the Hilltoppers since Sept. 14, which was a 3-1 loss against Illinois.
WKU came out and took an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set and did not look back. With big serves from graduate libero Madyson Chitty the Hilltoppers took a 13-6 lead. After a spectacular set from Van de Wiele she was able to get the match winning kill as the Hilltoppers took the set 25-16.
The Hilltoppers improved to 13-6 (6-0 C-USA). They will travel to Miami this weekend to take on Florida International on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13.
