WKU looks to continue to separate from conference pack
Published 11:14 am Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Western Kentucky players celebrate a point during Friday’s 3-0 volleyball win against Middle Tennessee at E.A. Diddle Arena.
(WKU ATHLETICS)
So far so good for the Western Kentucky volleyball team.
At the halfway point of the Conference USA season, WKU (14-6 overall, 8-0 Conference USA) is perched atop the league standings with a comfortable advantage. The Hilltoppers are essentially three games clear of second place, in line for the top seed in next month’s conference tournament which will be held at E.A. Diddle Arena.
WKU opens the second half of the conference slate with a pair of home matches against Kennesaw State this weekend. The first match is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday with the second match scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“At this moment … we are certainly in the driver’s seat,” WKU coach Travis Hudson said. “I think you have to say that out loud. We have a two-game lead over Missouri State, who we’ve already beaten twice. Middle Tennessee is in third – we’ve already beaten twice. We’ve already gone to New Mexico State, who I think is one of the teams who could win this thing. We’ve done a great job through the first half of the conference season.”
WKU is coming off a pair of 3-0 sweeps against Middle Tennessee last weekend. After having to rally late after trailing most of the first set in Friday’s opener, WKU controlled the next two sets in that match and proceeded with one of the best wins of the season on Saturday.
“I think Saturday was our most complete performance in the measurables that I am really watching,” Hudson said. “We are really talking about controlling the things that we can control and we do a stat that is unearned vs. unearned points. We are trying to be really close to 50/50 in that. By far we statted out in that better than we have all year. I hope it is confidence building for our team, because I’ve known that it would lead to that. For our team to see it and feel and feel how good we can be when we do those things is something that I hope builds confidence in them and builds a desire to want to stay clean and play that way because it was a pretty good version of us.”
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Kennesaw State comes in 9-11 overall, 3-5 in Conference USA, including a pair of five-set losses to Missouri State last weekend. Hudson said he has a lot of respect for Kennesaw State coach Keith Schunzel.
“He’s one of my favorite people in this profession as a human being, as a coach,” Hudson said. “He is a terrific coach. He can flat out coach. They are a really young team, in transition this year a little bit, but you never have to worry about me not having a ton of respect for any team that man coaches. I know what he is capable of and what their team is capable of. They play very, very hard. They have a middle hitter who is truly one of the top three or four players in our league in Olivia Burrage. She is a super-physical, athletic kid that is hitting well over .400 on the year. They present challenges to us.”
With WKU firmly in control of the conference standings, and sitting in a good spot for a potential NCAA Tournament bid ranked 21 in the latest RPI release, Hudson said this week – and the remaining regular season is as much about the future as it is the present.
“It’s really just a matter of continuing to get better and be a better version of ourselves every week, which we are starting to be,” Hudson said. “I think we’ve stood up to the tests that have been put in front of us and I look forward to continuing that journey.”
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
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