BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Western Kentucky University volleyball team opened the Xavier Invitational with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 26-24) win over Northeastern on Friday afternoon at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“The match was definitely hard fought,” WKU coach Travis Hudson said. “Northeastern has a very good team. We played very well in game one but our level of play didn’t really drop that much, Northeastern just played better and better as the match wore on. We were down 23-20 in the third set and found a way to come back and get the win and that is really important for our young team.”

Defense was critical to the WKU (3-2) victory as three different Lady Toppers recorded double-digit digs. Sophomore Jordyn Skinner led the way with 16 digs followed by classmate Sarah Rogers with 14. Senior Kelly Potts recorded 13 digs. The team recorded a season-high 65 digs.

Northeastern (2-2) was limited to a .175 overall hitting percentage, including a .029 percentage in the first set.

As a team, WKU averaged almost five blocks a set. Junior Tiffany Elmore tallied seven while freshman Janee’ Diggins added four.

Offensively, Elmore led the attack with 13 kills followed by Emily Teegarden with 11. Lindsay Williams paced the squad with a .429 hitting percentage while adding eight kills and three blocks.

Freshman Melanie Stutsman recorded a team-high three service aces and added 36 assists. Through five matches this season, Stutsman is averaging .44 services aces per set.

With the first set tied at 2-2, WKU scored seven straight points to take an early 9-2 lead. The two teams traded points until WKU built a 12-point lead at 20-8. Northeastern fought off three match points before WKU won, 25-14.

In the second set, WKU grabbed the early 7-2 lead on four straight kills by Stutsman, Williams and Teegarden. The Lady Toppers maintained the lead until Northeastern went on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 22-22. Back-to-back kills from Elmore helped WKU close out the set.

The third set was a battle for both teams, seeing nine ties through the set. Northeastern took the lead 23-20 before WKU rallied to tie the set at 24-24. A service ace from Skinner followed by a kill from Elmore on match point secured victory for the Lady Toppers.

WKU returns to action Saturday for the second day of the Xavier Invitational. The Lady Toppers face IPFW in the first match of the day at 9 a.m., and conclude the tournament against Xavier at 6 p.m.

“We are just continuing to try and get better,” Hudson said. “We have two more stiff tests tomorrow. IPFW is a NCAA tournament team from a year ago and beating Xavier on their home court will be a challenge as well so we just have to continue to try and get better.”