WKU Volleyball opens up tournament with sweep over Troy

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Back on a high note inside Diddle Arena, the Hilltoppers slammed down 10 aces Friday morning to sweep former Sun Belt opponent, Troy, 3-0. Fifth-year outside hitter Paige Briggs went back to business as usual with a 17-kill match, while Logan Grevengoed and Gabby Weihe led the defense with five blocks a piece.

Coming in as a serving specialist, Katie Howard picked up four aces from the service line to lead the Red and White, while the group as a whole clocked double-digit aces to the Trojans’ none.

WKU 3, Troy 0: 25-16, 25-20, 25-16

Set 1

Kaylee Cox got to jump on the board fast with a kill down the left side off the assist from Callie Bauer. The two rallied back and forth on the court until the Tops blasted out a 4-0 run to burn a Troy timeout, ending it on a Paige Briggs service ace. At the 12-6 Tops point, freshman Gabby got herself a kill from the middle while Abby Schaefer earned an ace from the line and the Troy offense created an attacking error for three straight Hilltopper points. After a service error, WKU pulled back three more as they later broke out a 5-1 run featuring a Kaylee Cox kill, two kills off the hand of Briggs, and back-to-back service aces for Katie Howard. Regrouping after the Trojans’ own 4-1 run, the Tops rushed to 25 with a stuffed block off the arms of Weihe and Cox.

Set 2

As Troy is keeping a tight match in the second frame, the two stayed fairly even until three apiece and the Trojans bounced on a 4-0 run for their largest lead of the set. Bringing themselves back to the court, the Tops jumped within one with a Bauer setter’s dump, Briggs kill and service ace. After a kill from the left side and double block, the contest was tied at eight. Exploding into an 8-1 run, the Hilltoppers now led the match 17-13 with three kills, two blocks, and three service aces. Picking things back up, the two rallied over the net while and Kenadee Coyle kill from the right and stuff block from Coyle and Grevengoed margined a five-point lead. The Tops carried out the match in front, ending on two Paige Briggs kills from the six-rotation player.

Set 3

The Trojans opened up the final frame with a kill off the hand of outside hitter Tori Hester cross-court. The Tops answered back with a 3-1 run: all from kills off each of the front row. Troy pushed three back, taking a two-point lead, before WKU drove into a 7-1 run featuring kills from the entire front row, a setter’s dump by Bauer, block from Izzy Van De Wiele and Coyle, and two sideout points from the visitors. The Trojans went on a 3-0 push before the Red and White went on a 6-2 jump before another 7-1 run to gain a 10-point lead on the Teraflex court. Troy fought back for three more of their own on the board before Paige Briggs shut them down on match point with a cross-court kill.

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