Press Release courtesy of WKU Athletics
As the regular season winds down, No. 25 WKU Volleyball prepares for its final tests as the Lady Toppers embark on a weekend trip to Rice and Middle Tennessee. Both Friday night’s match in Houston, Texas, and Sunday’s match in Murfreesboro, Tenn., will be streamed on beIN Connect and can be viewed for free with a cable provider login. The Red and White enter the weekend tilts with a 25-2 overall record, including the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 21-straight. WKU also owns an 11-0 mark in Conference USA matches and has defeated the last 36 C-USA foes it has faced.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
Friday, Nov. 3 – at Rice – 6 p.m. CT | beIN Connect | Stats
Sunday, Nov. 5 – at Middle Tennessee – 1 p.m. CT | beIN Connect | Stats
WKU’s 21-match win streak ties the second-longest mark in program history and dates back to the second weekend of the season. The impressive streak includes 16 sweeps to push the Lady Toppers’ 2017 total to 19 straight-set wins – the most in the nation.
Friday night’s matchup in Houston will be a rematch of the 2016 Conference USA Volleyball Championship match, which also took place in the Tudor Fieldhouse on Rice’s campus. The Owls’ last win over WKU came on Halloween in 2015, making Rice the last C-USA team to defeat Travis Hudson’s squad.
Genny Volpe’s Rice squad currently sits at 19-6 on the 2017 campaign including a 9-2 record in Conference USA tilts. The Owls enter the weekend at third in the league standings behind WKU (11-0) and North Texas (9-1). Rice returned 10 of its letterwinners – including five starters – from last season’s team that went 20-12. WKU Volleyball leads the all-time series with Rice 4-2 and is 1-1 when playing the Owls on their home court.
Sunday’s contest at Middle Tennessee will mark the second time the Lady Toppers and Blue Raiders have met this season after WKU claimed a three-set sweep in Diddle Arena on Oct. 1. MTSU sits at 7-19 on the season while sporting a 2-9 mark in C-USA action this year. The Blue Raiders enter the weekend 12th in the league standings.
Five letterwinners – all starters – returned from MTSU’s 2016 squad that went 5-24. WKU leads the all-time series against the Blue Raiders with a 44-16 record while Hudson is 28-15 all-time against Middle Tennessee. The Lady Toppers have claimed the last eight meetings with MTSU.
WKU Volleyball would become the first team in conference history to four-peat as the regular season champions with two wins on the weekend.
The Lady Toppers will close regular season play on Thursday, Nov. 9, at North Texas.
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.
Leave a Reply