To kick off the 2017 volleyball campaign, head coach Travis Hudson and the Conference USA-favorite Lady Toppers are heading over to Lexington for a preseason exhibition match with No. 14-ranked Kentucky on Wednesday. Action from Memorial Coliseum will commence at 4 p.m. CT and marks the only exhibition on deck for either squad.
Kentucky and WKU last met on the volleyball court in 2011 during the Kentucky Classic with the Wildcats securing the sweep. The Lady Toppers are 4-13 all-time against the SEC program in regular season contests. While Wednesday’s exhibition will not count towards the all-time meetings between the in-state foes, it will serve as an instrumental training opportunity as both sides gear up for big seasons.
Exhibition play will not strictly adhere to the usual match format. Both teams have agreed to play in a cooperative format so each side’s entire bench can gain valuable match setting action. To help both programs gain beneficial experience during the preseason meeting, extra sets will potentially be added while scoring may be adjusted as well. Changes will be up to the coaches’ discretion and will be relayed to fans and followers as soon as possible via WKU Volleyball social media platforms.
All three of WKU’s All-Americans return as upperclassmen on The Hill this fall with three-time AVCA honorees Alyssa Cavanaugh and Jessica Lucas heading into their final campaigns in addition to Rachel Anderson returning primed for a big junior season. The Red and White trio was named to the C-USA Preseason All-Conference squad by league coaches while Cavanaugh was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year as well.
The Lady Toppers are coming off their 15th-straight 25-win season in 2016 while stretching their 30-win season streak to three-consecutive campaigns with a 30-3 record. The Lady Toppers secured their sixth-straight regular-season conference championship with an unblemished 14-0 record in Conference USA action and remained perfect by winning the C-USA Tournament for the third-straight year as well. The tournament championship marked the Red and White’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002 and the sixth appearance in the past seven seasons.
There will one more chance to catch the WKU Volleyball unit in action for free prior to the Aug. 29 home opener. This Saturday, the squad will put on its inaugural Volleyball 101 and scrimmage. Action will open at 2 p.m. from the main court of Diddle Arena with an hour long scrimmage before splitting into the kids clinic and Volleyball 101 informational session at 3 p.m. Parking in PS2 is free as well.
With the 2017 campaign just around the corner, volleyball season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by calling the WKU ticket office at 1-800-5-BIGRED. Season ticket holders will receive 12 general admission tickets with the Flexible Ticket Package that can be used to attend the home games of his or her choice. This plan allows the flexibility to choose which volleyball games the buyer wants to attend and the number of tickets used for each game. Season ticket holders also gain exclusive access to pre-game chalk talks with Hudson, who enters his 23rd season at the helm of WKU volleyball.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU.
Press Release courtesy of WKU Athletics.
Leave a Reply