“My dad’s a big numbers guy, he’s a math teacher,” Western Kentucky senior Jessica Lucas said with a laugh after a historic night in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Sunday.
Not only was it her senior night and last regular-season home game (WKU will host the Conference USA tournament), but in Sunday’s 3-0 sweep of UAB, Lucas recorded 35 assists (along with 7 kills and 6 digs), which pushed her past 5,000 for her career.
The output on Sunday was slightly-better than her 11-per-set average on the season, and she finished the game with 5,006 in her career.
Lucas, a 3-time AVCA All-American, now sits 3rd in Western Kentucky’s all-time rankings in the category – trailing only Sara Noe and Melanie Stutsman for the program’s all-time lead.
If Lucas stays healthy and the Hilltoppers repeat as Conference USA champions and advance to the NCAA tournament, Lucas would have a minimum of 6 games left this season. Depending on how many sets the team plays over those 6 games, an average statistical performance for Lucas over an average number of sets would push her in the neighborhood of 5,200 sets – about 100 short of the school record.
WKU is 25-2 this season and have a nation-leading 21-game winning streak (tied with VCU) entering Friday’s match against Rice. That game will serve as a rematch of last year’s 5-set Conference USA Championship game.
WKU All-Time Leaders in Assists
- Melanie Stutsman (2010-2013) – 5,294
- Sara Noe (1999-2002) – 5,172
- Jessica Lucas (2014-present) – 5006
- Jenni Miller (1996-1999) – 4,521
- Julia Noe (2005-2008) – 4,369
- Caron Biotch (2003-2005) – 4,252
- Karrie Doanhue (1992-1996) – 3,542
- Cindy Bradley (1989-1991) – 2,688
- Cindy Wiseman (1991-1993) – 1,510
- Kristi Chandler (1994-1997) – 1,247
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