WKU looks to continue success at FIU
Published 11:43 am Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Western Kentucky’s volleyball team earned a 3-1 win against Kennesaw State on Friday at E.A. Diddle Arena.
(SAVANNAH PHILPOT/WKU Athletics)
The Western Kentucky volleyball team looks to keep rolling along when it heads to Miami to face Florida International for a pair of games this weekend. The two teams will meet at 5 p.m. CDT on Friday before an 11 a.m. CDT match on Saturday.
WKU (16-6 overall, 10-0 Conference USA) enters on an 11 game win streak, but faces an FIU team that plays well at home. FIU (14-9, 5-5) is 6-1 at home, including a sweep of Liberty two weeks ago.
“It’s always a challenge down there,” WKU coach Travis Hudson said. “There are certain teams that are very different home and away. In this league – not surprisingly – I think the two teams that you see with the biggest difference home and away are New Mexico State and FIU, which are the two outliers geographically.”
While it is a challenge, historically WKU has fared well in Miami. The Hilltoppers’ last trip last November resulted in a Conference USA Tournament title.
“We’ve always had good success there,” Hudson said. “We have a lot of good memories there. We’ve won a lot of championships there, but we have also been in a lot of battles. We had a five setter with them in the tournament last year. The year before we went five twice in the regular season, so we understand the task that is in front of us this week.”
WKU is coming off a pair of 3-1 wins over Kennesaw State. It was the first two sets that WKU has dropped in conference play this season.
Email newsletter signup
“I wasn’t at all surprised that they challenged us, that they took a set from us, but you did like seeing a response – especially Saturday,” Hudson said. “We struggled early and then played some of our best volleyball after that. It’s a challenging thing in this league. We are the one that is sitting out in front and everyone is gunning for us. We are getting the best version of everybody. People come in and play you with no fear and all of those things against us, but we are figuring ourselves out. We are continuing to get better at things.”
With three weeks left in the regular season, WKU sits comfortably in front in Conference USA. WKU is two games clear of second place Missouri State, with the tiebreaker. The Hilltoppers could clinch the top seed in the conference tournament, which WKU will host next month, with two wins and two Missouri State losses.
“I love where we are,” Hudson said. “We are making progress and playing better as the season goes along. We are in great shape for everything that matters to us still with six to go. Excited to just move a week closer to all of our goals.”
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
More by Micheal
