Hilltoppers Down Blue Raiders for Ninth Sweep of 2026

WKU Athletics Media Release

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Volleyball (13-6; 7-0 CUSA) defeated Middle Tennessee (14-5; 5-2 CUSA) in three sets on Friday afternoon inside E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU continued the hot hand defensively, holding the Blue Raiders to a .129 hitting percentage and 18 attack errors while the Hilltopper defense stuffed seven total blocks and allowed just three service aces. MTSU came into the match leading the league in total aces and No. 11 in the nation and WKU held them to a season low in the category.

HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 3, MTSU 0
SET ONE – WKU 25, MTSU 23

Action got underway as Alivia Skidmore and Kaira Knox fired off a pair of kills for the early Hilltopper lead. Even at four, the Blue Raiders grabbed their first lead of the day off an errant attack. Down one, the first successful attack for Faith Young tied the score at six. A 3-0 MTSU run followed. Eliza McKnight became the fourth Hilltopper to log a kill for a 9-8 score. The Blue Raiders were first to double figures, forcing a WKU timeout, down 11-8. Now behind four, a two point rally, capped by the first ace for Skidmore brought the Tops within two at 13-11. The Hilltoppers fell behind 17-12 out of the media break. Straight aces off the hand of Knox brought WKU within two and forced MTSU into its first timeout. Knox and Skidmore’s solo blocks capped a 3-0 run and forced the final Blue Raider timeout, now even at 21. Kate Rush found Knox for straight kills to close the door and take set one, 25-23.

SET TWO – WKU 25, MTSU 13

Tayler Baron connected with Skidmore then Knox fired one through the MTSU front-line for the first two points of the frame. Izzy Van De Wiele stuffed her first block for a 3-0 lead. After a Blue Raider point, two more went WKU’s way and WKU backed the Blue Raiders into a timeout with WKU up 5-1. Aided by four straight and bookended by a pair of Knox kills, the WKU lead swelled to seven. The 10th Hilltopper point sparked yet another 4-0 run with the highlight of the frame being Knox’s three consecutive aces to push the advantage to 13-3. After the Blue Raiders snapped the run, a trio of kills from Rush pushed the margin to a dozen at 16-4. Three straight Blue Raider attack errors pushed the Hilltoppers to 20, still up by 12. Now up 21-8, MTSU used a 4-1 run to pull within 10. McKnight’s second kill ended the run and the Blue Raiders fired one into the net, giving WKU Set point. Izzie Delacher closed out a dominant second set with an ace, winning 25-13.

SET THREE – WKU 25, MTSU 22

Like the first two sets, WKU claimed the first two points. Skidmore fired off her second ace for a 3-1 edge. A 4-1 Blue Raider run cut the Hilltopper lead down to one at 7-6. Young and Rush managed straight kills to push the margin back to three. An errant attack propelled WKU into double figures, leading 10-6. Rush fed Young for her seventh kill and then followed with her first ace, pushing the WKU lead out to six. Kennedy Cherry found Rush for her sixth kill and a 14-7 lead. MTSU pulled within five at 17-12. Young and Knox combined for the sixth team block and the 18th point of the set. Three in a row for the Blue Raiders forced WKU into its first timeout, holding a three-point, 18-15 margin. Now up two, consecutive points pushed the edge back to four, capped by Young’s second block, forcing an MTSU timeout. Rush won a battle at the net to stuff her second block for a 22-20 lead. Knox added to the lead and pushed her kill total to 10, resulting in the final MTSU stoppage. Knox would bump her total to 11, giving WKU its first match point. A bad serve into the net gave WKU a 25-22 win and a 3-0 sweep over the Blue Raiders.

NOTABLES

• Kaira Knox headlined the offensive production, tallying 11 kills, five aces, four digs, and three blocks.
• For Knox, her five aces match a career best set against EKU on Sept. 12 of this season.
• Faith Young was second in kills Friday, finishing with seven. The junior added three digs, two blocks, and an ace.
• Kate Rush dished out 31 assists along with six kills, five digs, and two blocks.
• Rush has finished with 30+ assists in 16 of WKU’s 19 matches this season.
• Alivia Skidmore finished with six kills, six digs, two aces, and a block. Skidmore’s six digs match a season best set against ETSU on Sept. 19.
• Izzy Van De Wiele connected on 4-of-8 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. The middle hitter also managed two blocks.
• Izzie Delacher was the fifth Hilltopper to record an ace in the match, marking the first in her career for the native of Grand Rapids, Mich.
• The defensive backline was managed by Tayler Baron who finished with 13 digs and added a pair of assists.
• WKU managed 10 service aces in the win, the fifth time this season the Tops have logged 10-plus in the category. WKU held MTSU to three aces, marking a season low.
• Friday was the 80th meeting between the two programs. WKU now leads the series 64-16, winners of the last 29 meetings.

QUOTABLES

• “Great win for our team, great comeback in the first set. Wasn’t thrilled with the hole that we dug ourselves but, as this team has seemed to do, we found our way out of it. Really proud of them for coming back. In the middle part of the match was some of the best volleyball we’ve played. We were really clean up until points 15-16 in that third set.” – Head coach Travis Hudson on the three set win over Middle Tennessee
• “That may be the best match I’ve ever seen Kaira Knox play. I thought she impacted us in so many ways. When we were down in set one, she had two critical service aces back-to-back when we were down four, all of a sudden you look up and we’re only down two and it feels like we’re in it. She took some big swings at the net for us, had some critical blocks in that first set, just a really good game from an all-around special player” – Head coach Travis Hudson on Kaira Knox’s performance in the win

NEXT UP

The Hilltoppers continue action with the Blue Raiders on Saturday, Oct. 17 for the Grow the Game Showcase and Alumni Day. First serve from E.A. Diddle Arena is set for 1 p.m. CT and will be streaming on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to stick around after for a men’s exhibition between Ohio State and Ball State.