Wednesday, October 4
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
7-9,0-4CUSA
2
vs
3
Western Kentucky
14-4,4-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
5
F
Western Ky.
25
24
24
25
15
3
Liberty
14
26
26
15
13
2
Western Kentucky Escapes with 5-Set Victory at Liberty
10/4/2023 4:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty had Conference USA power Western Kentucky on the ropes, leading 2-1 before the visiting Hilltoppers rallied for the five-set win (25-14, 24-26,24-26, 25-15, 15-13) on Wednesday at Liberty Arena.
WKU (14-4) improved to 4-0 in CUSA play with its ninth straight win. Meanwhile, Liberty (7-9, 0-4) remains in search of its first Conference USA victory, dropping its ninth consecutive contest.
Notable Numbers
Liberty will next host fellow CUSA newcomer New Mexico State, Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at Liberty Arena.
WKU (14-4) improved to 4-0 in CUSA play with its ninth straight win. Meanwhile, Liberty (7-9, 0-4) remains in search of its first Conference USA victory, dropping its ninth consecutive contest.
Notable Numbers
- For the match, WKU outhit Liberty .294-.149. The Lady Flames led in kills (62-54), assists (59-51) and digs (61-58). Both teams served up seven aces, while Western Kentucky outblocked the Lady Flames 17-5.
- Paige Briggs tied for the match high with 18 kills, adding 11 digs. Gabby Weihe posted nine kills and seven blocks, while Logan Grevengoed totaled eight kills and a match-high nine blocks. Abby Schaefer collected 19 digs, while Katie Howard served up four aces to lead all players and Callie Bauer dished out 40 assists.
- Kate Phillips scored 18 kills for the Lady Flames, while Kamryn Bacus contributed 17 kills, three aces and nine digs. Madison Blane sent down 11 kills (.409) while also posting four blocks. Delaney Dilfer registered a match-high 55 assists to go along with 10 digs, while Julia Mangum scored nine kills. Zoi Sherolli collected 20 digs in her first start as a libero, while Lily Wagner collected a career-high 10 digs.
- Set five featured eight ties and four lead changes. The Lady Flames went ahead 12-11 with a kill from Bacus and a Mangum/Blane block. CUSA Preseason Player of the Year Paige Briggs scored three kills and added a block assist during WKU's match-clinching 4-1 run. Her 18th and final kill of the match sealed Western Kentucky's 72nd consecutive CUSA regular-season victory.
- Western Kentucky now leads the all-time series against Liberty 3-0. The Hilltoppers won the only previous meeting prior to this weel, 3-1, on Aug. 30, 2003 in DeKalb, Ill.
- Sherolli reached double-digits in digs for the second match in a row and sixth time in her career. It was her second career 20-dig match, as she totaled 22 digs against Northern Kentucky, Feb. 16, 2021 while playing for Green Bay.
- Liberty is now 7-5 in sets decided by two points and 4-2 in extended sets so far this season.
- Dilfer fashioned her team-leading fifth double-double of the season and 28th of her career. It was also her 19th career 50-assist match and second of the season.
- Phillips reached double figures in kills for the fifth match in a row. Meanwhile, Bacus, who recently returned from injury, and Phillips are now tied for the team lead with nine double-digit kill matches apiece this season.
- For the season, Liberty is 2-2 in five-set matches, while WKU is 1-1 in sets that require a full five sets.
- Western Kentucky has not lost a Conference USA regular-season contest since Oct. 19, 2018, a span of 72 matches. Today was just the fourth time during that nearly five-year span that a CUSA team has taken WKU to a fifth set in the regular season (also Rice, Nov. 19, 2019 and Nov. 16, 2022; FIU, Nov. 2, 2018).
Liberty will next host fellow CUSA newcomer New Mexico State, Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at Liberty Arena.
Team Stats
WestKy
Lib
Kills
54
62
Errors
14
36
Attempts
136
174
Hitting %
.294
.149
Points
78.0
74.0
Assists
51
59
Aces
7
7
Blocks
17
5
Game Leaders
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
17
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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