Friday, November 15
Bowling Green, KY
7:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CT
Liberty University
13-17,7-11CUSA
1
at
3
Western Kentucky
25-6,18-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
15
15
28
30
1
Western Ky.
25
25
26
32
3
Hilltoppers Edge Lady Flames in Spirited Four Set Match
11/15/2024 9:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After a quick first two sets, Liberty and Western Kentucky played a pair of marathon sets, with WKU emerging 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 26-28, 32-30) on Friday at E.A. Diddle Arena.
WKU (25-6) finished a perfect 18-0 in Conference USA play, its sixth straight unbeaten conference regular-season slate and sixth consecutive CUSA regular-season title. The Hilltoppers ended the regular season on a 21-match winning streak and have won 92 straight CUSA regular-season matches. The Lady Flames (13-17) finished the regular season seventh in the CUSA standings at 7-11, as Liberty fell in its final four contests.
Seeding, matchups and start times for the CUSA Volleyball Championship quarterfinals will be announced tomorrow after the conclusion of all conference matches. The 2024 CUSA Volleyball Championship will be hosted by UTEP, Friday through Sunday in El Paso, Texas.
Notable Numbers
WKU (25-6) finished a perfect 18-0 in Conference USA play, its sixth straight unbeaten conference regular-season slate and sixth consecutive CUSA regular-season title. The Hilltoppers ended the regular season on a 21-match winning streak and have won 92 straight CUSA regular-season matches. The Lady Flames (13-17) finished the regular season seventh in the CUSA standings at 7-11, as Liberty fell in its final four contests.
Seeding, matchups and start times for the CUSA Volleyball Championship quarterfinals will be announced tomorrow after the conclusion of all conference matches. The 2024 CUSA Volleyball Championship will be hosted by UTEP, Friday through Sunday in El Paso, Texas.
Notable Numbers
- For the match, Western Kentucky held a .273-.132 advantage in hitting percentage. The Hilltoppers led in kills (61-48), assists (56-45), aces (10-6) and blocks (15-12), while Liberty led 49-47 in digs.
- Kaylee Cox led all players with 23 kills, hitting .439 while adding five blocks. Kenadee Coyle totaled 17 kills, five blocks and the match-clinching ace. Alivia Skidmore sent down 11 kills, while Callie Bauer dished out 51 assists. Izzy Van De Wiele posted a match-high 10 blocks, while Callahan Weigandt and Abby Schaefer collected 11 digs each.
- Kate Gammer scored a team-high 17 kills for Liberty, while Kamryn Bacus scored 11 kills. Erica Lowery collected a match-high 16 digs, while Autumn Flowers and Charli Morris both registered five blocks. Elizabeth Helmich totaled eight kills, two aces and four blocks, while Madison Blane posted two aces and seven blocks. Charli Crowons led Liberty with 18 assists.
- Trailing 2-0 in the match, Liberty raced out to a 22-14 lead in set three and led 24-17 before WKU went on an 8-0 run to lead 25-24. The Lady Flames fought off match point, and Gammer's kill sent the match to a fourth set, 28-26.
- Set four went back and forth, with 14 ties and seven lead changes. It appeared that the match was over when Gammer's attack was called out, giving WKU the 25-23 win. However, the call was reversed on video challenge review. From that point on, both teams fought off three match-point attempts. Coyle scored a kill to tie it at 30-all, and the senior ended the match with an ace, 32-30.
- WKU is 5-0 all-time against Liberty in volleyball, including 4-0 while both teams have been members of Conference USA.
- The Hilltoppers had won each of their last 18 sets played prior to Friday's set-three loss. Their last set loss prior to tonight was set four at UTEP, Oct. 26.
- Set four tonight was Liberty's longest set so far this season.
- Blane's 152 blocks this season are three shy of Loren Thomas' (2011) program single-season rally-scoring record. Blane has set a new program single-season rally-scoring record with 136 block assists, breaking Thomas' record of 134 from 2011.
- Gammer's 405 kills this season are the most by a Lady Flame in a single season since Amelia Johnson scored 457 kills in 2019. Gammer scored her 1,200th career kill tonight.
- Tonight was the 11th time this season and 36th time in their careers that both Bacus and Gammer scored 10 or more kills in the same match. Liberty is 25-11 when both Bacus and Gammer reach double figures in kills.
- Lowery passed Leanna Miller (1994-97) into 18th place in program history with 1,106 career digs as a Lady Flame.
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Team Stats
Lib
WestKy
Kills
48
61
Errors
30
23
Attempts
136
139
Hitting %
.132
.273
Points
66.0
86.0
Assists
45
56
Aces
6
10
Blocks
12
15
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
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