Box Score - No. 24 Western Kentucky 3, South Alabama 0
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-12) decision Saturday afternoon to 24th-ranked Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena in Sun Belt Conference action.
“Western Kentucky just elevated their game after the first set and we weren’t able to match it,” South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. “We just need to be more consistant.”
USA (8-8, 1-1 SBC) will now return home to host Florida Atlantic on Fri. (Sept . 28). First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Jag Gym.
Middle blocker Olivia Mohler paced the Jaguar offense with eight kills and hit a .389. Lindsay Schwartz, Melissa Waelter and Savannah Stewart also chipped in with seven kills apiece. Stewart also added a team-high 10 digs in the loss.
WKU (16-3, 2-0 SBC) was led by Heather Boyan’s 16 kills and .609 hitting percentage. Noelle Langenkemp also finished the match with eight kills and a .469 hitting percentage.
The Lady Toppers held a distinct advantage in the attack percentage category, outhitting the Jaguars .396 to .188.
SET ONE: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 22
Western Kentucky led 6-4 early in the opening set, but the Jags came right back and captured six of the next seven points to take a 10-7 lead. Waelter began the run with a kill and later added another, while Hundt recorded a pair of aces for USA.
The Toppers answered the Jaguar run with a string of five unanswered points to retake the lead, 12-10, following a kill from Boyan.
USA would later tie the set back up at 16-16, after a WKU serving error, but the Lady Toppers pushed across the next three points to jump back out in front 19-16 after a kill from Paige Wessel.
South Alabama made a late push, trimming the deficit to 23-21 on a block assists from Lindsay Schwartz and Olivia Mohler, but WKU’s Langenkemp sealed the first-set victory with a kill of her own.
Mohler and Schwartz led the Jaguar offense in the opening set, combining for nine kills. Boyan had five kills for the Topppers.
Both clubs were very efficient offensively in the first set. WKU posted a .417, while USA had a.294 percentage.
SET TWO: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 16
South Alabama led by one at the start of the second set, but that would be short-lived as WKU took control with a 6-1 run to take a four-point lead. Haley Bodway capped off the scoring for the Toppers and gave WKU the 7-3 advantage with a put away.
Western Kentucky would not relinquish control and later extended its lead out to eight (14-6) following Boyan’s third kill of the frame. Boyan ended the frame with six kills for the Toppers.
The Toppers eventually led by double figures on a couple of occasions, before taking the 25-16 set victory.
Waelter and Stewart each added four kills in the set for the Jaguars.
SET THREE: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 12
In the third and final set, WKU set the tone early as the Toppers pushed across six of the first seven points.
USA was able to get as close as four (8-4) following a kill from Stewart. However, the Jags would get no closer, eventually falling 25-12.
Boyan was again outstanding in the third set, finishing with six kills and a .444 percentage. As a team, Western Kentucky posted its best hitting percentage of the match in the final frame with a .424.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
NOTES: Western Kentucky improves to 35-9 in the all-time series and has won 25-straight in the series. Freshman setter Emily Hundt made her first collegiate start versus the Lady Toppers on Saturday.
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