Hilltoppers blank Blue Raiders for second straight time
Published 7:33 pm Saturday, October 17, 2026
Western Kentucky players gather to celebrate a point during Saturday’s 3-0 win against Middle Tennessee at E.A. Diddle Arena.
(LIAM DOWNIE/WKU Athletics)
Western Kentucky’s volleyball team made it back-to-back wins against Middle Tennessee with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20) victory Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The win marks the 30th straight for WKU (14-6 overall, 8-0 Conference USA) in the series. WKU has now also won nine in a row, including six straight sweeps. Kaira Knox and Faith Young anchored the offense in the win. Knox totaled a dozen kills, while Young added 10. For the sixth time this season, the WKU serving produced 10 or more aces, finishing with 12. Kate Rush led with four and Alivia Skidmore added three.
“Really excited about how our team performed today,” WKU coach Travis Hudson said in a news release. “I think this was one of the more complete performances we’ve had this year from beginning to end. When the match got tighter today, it had more to do with them (MTSU) making plays than anything else. One of my favorite performances of the year and a big win for our team.”
Rush recorded the first point of the afternoon with a dump-down. After the Blue Raiders responded with one of their own, Knox became the second Hilltopper to manage a kill. The first ace for Knox put WKU up four at 7-3. MTSU (14-6, 5-3 CUSA) pulled within one of WKU at 8-7. Rush and Skidmore each logged solo blocks to push the Hilltoppers into double figures, leading 11-7. Rush and Knox combined for three consecutive kills, now up six at 14-8.
A 6-0 Blue Raider run evened the score at 15. Up 18-17, Knox, Young, and Skidmore fired off kills to push WKU over 20 points. Up 22-19, Skidmore managed her second kill. Rush capped off the frame with a pair of aces, taking the first set 25-19.
Rush fired off a pair of aces to open the second frame of action. Izzy Van De Wiele found Knox to pad the WKU lead. The Blue Raiders snapped the streak but stellar serving off the hand of Skidmore backed MTSU into their first timeout, leading 7-1. After the run was snapped, another kill from Knox ignited a 6-0 run, allowing an 11-point Hilltopper lead to develop. Young was credited with a trio of kills in the stretch.
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WKU led 15-6 at the media timeout. A block pushed the Hilltopper lead back out to double digits. MTSU pulled within seven at 17-10. Three consecutive Blue Raider errors pushed the margin back to 10. WKU grabbed a 22-11 lead off Skidmore’s third ace of the frame. The Blue Raiders pulled within seven before Young fired off her eighth kill for set point. On the second one, Young tallied another kill into the right corner for a 25-17 set win.
The Blue Raiders grabbed a three-point lead to open the third frame. The eighth kill for Knox cut the margin in half at 4-2. The second ace from Knox pulled WKU within one and a kill by Aubrey Sears evened the score. Young’s 10th kill gave WKU its first lead of the set. Skidmore found an opening for a kill to push the lead to three at 10-7. Tayler Baron recorded the 11th WKU ace of the day and sent the two into the media break with WKU holding a four-point advantage.
Rush dumped one over the net to force an MTSU timeout, now up five at 17-12. Cherry pushed the ace total to a dozen and forced MTSU into their final timeout, now leading by six. Out of timeout, Skidmore and Young combined for a block as WKU surpassed 20 points. The Blue Raiders made it a five-point game before an error, then McKnight and Skidmore stuffed a block to give the Tops a 22-15 edge. MTSU came within four before the 12th kill for Knox earned WKU a 25-20 win, marking their sixth consecutive sweep of 2026.
Knox again led the offensive attack, tallying 12 kills, marking the 13th time in 2026 that Knox has managed 10-plus. The sophomore added five digs and two aces.
Young also logged double-digit kills, finishing with 10. Young compiled a match-best .556 hitting-clip, with no errors on 18 total attacks. The middle hitter managed three blocks, an assist, and a dig in the win.
Skidmore excelled in all facets, finishing with eight kills, four blocks, three aces, three digs, and an assist. Her four blocks were a team best.
Rush also was impactful in all areas, managing 29 assists, five kills, five digs, four aces, and two blocks. Rush closed out the first frame with back-to-back aces, half of her team-high total of four.
The defensive backline was controlled by Baron and Cali Foster. The two combined for 20 of WKU’s 42 digs. Baron finished with 12 and Foster added eight.
The Hilltoppers finished with 12 service aces while holding Middle Tennessee to just three in the match and six total on the weekend. For WKU, Saturday marks the sixth match this season of finishing with 10-plus aces. 12 is two high of a season best of 14 set against James Madison on Sept. 11.
With the sweep Saturday, WKU has now won 21 consecutive sets, dating back to a reverse sweep over New Mexico State on Sept. 26. The last time WKU won 20 or more consecutive sets was when they managed 24 in a row from Sept. 20 through Oct. 8 of 2024.
The Hilltoppers have now won 30-straight against the Blue Raiders, dating back nearly 15 years to Nov. 11, 2011.
23 of the 30 have been won in three sets, including each of the last four.
The Hilltoppers continue the home stretch, hosting Kennesaw State for the Hope for Harlie Match on Oct. 23. First serve at E.A. Diddle Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streaming on ESPN+.
