Western Kentucky fought until the very end, but just didn’t have enough left in the tank.
The No. 19 nationally ranked Lady Toppers, taking on Louisville in the Second Round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena, battled from start to finish but suffered a season-ending 3-2 loss (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-5) in a five-set thriller.
WKU finishes the 2019 campaign at 32-2 overall.
WKU started fast and jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Louisville regrouped and later used a 4-0 run to even the scoreboard at 14-14. Lauren Matthew’s kill put the Lady Toppers back in front, and back-to-back kills by Paige Briggs put Western up 20-17 and forced a Cardinals’ timeout.
A kill by Kayland Jackson made it 23-20 – and another Briggs kill shortly after helped the Lady Tops take the opening set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Four straight points form UofL cut WKU’s lead to 12-11 before an Amber Stivrins kill pushed the scoring run to 6-0 and put the Cardinals up 13-12. Two more points from Louisville – highlighted by an Aiko Jones kill – made it 15-12 and forced Travis Hudson to call timeout.
WKU was finally able to end Louisville’s 11-0 run with a kill by Sophia Cerino, and two more points for the Lady Toppers brought them to within 18-15. However, the Cardinals answered with three straight points of their own to go up 23-17 and ultimately took the set 25-21 to even the match.
The Lady Toppers held an early 11-5 lead in Set 3, and it was later 15-13. A kill by Jones helped UofL tie it at 19-all, and an attack error soon after made it 23-21 in the Cardinals’ favor and led to a WKU timeout, but Louisville took the set 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Back-to-back kills from Briggs and Cerino gave Western a tight 9-8 advantage in Set 4, but Louisville responded with three straight points to take a 11-9 lead and trigger a Lady Topper timeout.
A 3-0 run by WKU – highlighted by a Matthews kill – cut its deficit to 16-14, and a Katie Isenbarger kill – followed by three other points – put the Lady Toppers up 20-18. Western pushed its run to 8-0, but the Cardinals ended it with a kill from Tori Dilfer to get within 22-19.
A kill by Briggs – followed by one from Cerino – pushed Western to a 25-21 win in the set and evened the match at 2-2, sending the contest to a fifth set.
Louisville jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Set 5, but Matthews answered with a kill to give WKU its first point in the frame. The Cardinals soon built a 6-1 advantage and forced Hudson to call a timeout, but UofL continued to execute and ultimately came away with the 15-5 set win to claim the match and end the Lady Toppers’ season.