Courtesy of WKU Athletics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU improved to 12-0 on the season adding another sweep to
their resume. Behind a strong defensive effort, the Hilltoppers held Florida
International .092 hitting percentage en route to the 25-12, 25-13, 25-15
straight-set victory.
WKU has swept their opponent in all but two of its matches so far this season. FIU
(1-7; 1-6 C-USA) and WKU (12-0; 7-0 C-USA) play again tomorrow in Diddle Arena at
noon. WKU students as well as faculty and staff will receive free admission to the
contest in Diddle Arena.
FIU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first set until WKU pulled back ahead at
4-3 with kills from Lauren Matthews and Paige Briggs. FIU stayed close for most of
the first part of the frame coming as close as 10-7. With strong defense and an ace
from Briggs, WKU extended its lead to 13-7 forcing FIU to call a timeout. The Tops
never looked back after that, winning the set 25-12. WKU used a balanced attack and
worked at a scorching .469 hitting percentage while also holding FIU to a .222
hitting percentage.
More solid defense and strong serving from Hallie Shelton helped WKU jump out to a
quick 8-2 lead to begin the second set forcing an early FIU timeout. Behind a trio
of kills from Briggs and steady serving from Logan Kael, WKU extended the lead to
13-4. The Tops would pushed out to a 25-13 win for a 2-0 lead in the match. The Tops
cooled off a little bit, hitting .339 but held FIU to a .113 attack rate.
In the final set, FIU hung around longer owning an 8-6 lead. After an ace from
Briggs, the Hilltoppers tied the game at 10. From there, WKU outscored the Panthers
15-5 to claim the set, 25-15. FIU called for stops trailing 4-2 and 23-15 but
couldn’t find much to slow down the Red and White.
Across the match, WKU worked at a .303 offensive clip while the defense held FIU to
a .092 mark. The Panthers mark the fourth team that the Hilltoppers have held below
a .100 hitting clip this season.
Paige Briggs finished with 13 kills on 30 attempts for a .267 clip as well as seven
digs, two blocks and two aces.
Nadia Dieudonne tallied 31 assists to go along with five digs, a block and a kill.
Sunday’s match marks the ninth time Dieudonne has facilitated the Hilltopper offense
to a .300 rate or better offensively.
Kael recorded a team-best nine digs while Ashley Hood and Briggs each added seven.
Katie Isenbarger racked up a match-high five blocks in the win.
WKU out-dug FIU 39-32 and out-blocked them 7-4 as the Hilltoppers held FIU to a .092
hitting percentage on the match – the fifth time this season holding an opponent to
a sub-.100 mark.
LOOKING AHEAD
WKU Volleyball will be back in action again tomorrow as they take on FIU again at
noon CT. Later this week, West Virginia (8-8) will be coming to Bowling Green on
Friday, March 12th at 5 p.m. CT to play WKU in the Tops’ first non-conference match
in two months.
LOOKING AHEAD
With its first road trip since 2019 in the books, WKU Volleyball will be home again
this weekend as FIU comes to town for a Sunday – Monday Conference USA series. First
serve will go up at noon CT both days.
