WKU Volleyball gets 16th sweep of the season after beating La Tech

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - After winning in a sweep on Friday, the WKU Volleyball team dominated from beginning to end on Saturday, holding Louisiana Tech to only 32 total points and securing its 70th straight Conference USA regular season win.

Paige Briggs led the charge with 15 kills as she collected her 46th career double-double, adding on 11 digs from the back row.

The Hilltoppers’ .422 hitting clip was also led from both corners of Kaylee Cox with nine kills, and Kenadee Coyle with seven as the Tops tied for their least amount of hitting errors in a match. The four errors also tie up with Liberty on October 3. On the other side of the net, middle hitter Gabby Weihe tacked on a trio of blocks, while Briggs and Coyle each stuffed two.

WKU 3, LA Tech 0: 25-8, 25-12, 25-12

Set 1

After a rally between the Tops and Bulldogs with a 3-2 lead for the Red and White, WKU pushed out an explosive 11-0 run. An errant Bulldog serve into the net kicked off the Hilltopper points, as the Red and White picked up five kills – two back-to-back points for freshman Gabby Weihe – added on a block, four Bulldog sideout points, and an ace from the line for Callie Bauer. After the 12-point scoring margin, LA Tech earned their third point of the set with a kill off the side from Izabely Benjamin. Both teams rallied back-and-forth on the court, until three straight for WKU, capped by kills from the Hilltopper front line of Kenadee Coyle, Logan Grevengoed, and Kaylee Cox, margined the Tops to 20 points. After another 3-0 run for the Red and White, Paige Briggs ended the frame with a solo stuff on the outside.

Set 2

Logan Grevengoed opened up set two with a solo block, followed by a kill down the middle to give WKU the start. After the Bulldogs took some back on the board and both teams rallied, the Tops jumped into an 8-0 run to take a nine-point lead. After the first three straight for the Red and White featuring a Briggs kill and two back-to-back Cox shots, LA Tech was forced to burn a timeout. Out of the break, an ace from Briggs highlighted the next five, as she picked up another straight point off of a serve to end the run. Both teams would play on, as the Tops held a broad lead that was later extended by a 6-0 drive. The home team took back three points of their own – their largest run of the set, before WKU called back with three straight, ending on a Paige Briggs kill.

Set 3

After the Bulldogs collected two straight points on the board to start the set, WKU and LA Tech rallied points until the Bulldogs took their largest lead of the match at 4-2. Building momentum, the Tops rallied up four straight points with Briggs and Cox kills, and back-to-back blocks from the right side of the net with Kenadee Coyle and Gabby Weihe. The Bulldogs cut the run short with a kill from LA Tech’s Courtney Carter, then the Tops continued on their scoring streak with four more points in a row. As they led 10-5, the Tops and Bulldogs traded points on the court, while a Coyle kill and sidepoint point from LA Tech gave the Hilltoppers an eight-point lead. Louisiana Tech fought back for one more kill, at point 12, not long before WKU ran on six straight, capping the sweep with a Kaylee Cox solo block on the pin.

The Hilltoppers return home next weekend for the final home series of the season when they take on Florida International on Friday evening at 6 and Saturday at noon.