BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky continued their winning ways when
hosting the University of New Orleans at E.A Diddle Arena, winning
their seventh straight home match in the series 3-2 (22-25, 25-23,
25-16, 22-25, 16-14) on Saturday evening.
UNO (13-8, 6-4 SBC) was led by Dobrilla Kovacevic with 19 kills, as they attempted to pick up a road win in the series for the first time since 1997. Lindsey Loyd added another 18 kills as the Privateers lost in five frames for the third time this season.
Kovacevic and Loyd notched double-double performances with 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Nicky Valenti topped UNO in the category with 25 digs while Cassidy Asebroek had 35 assists.
WKU (15-9, 5-5 SBC) won their second straight match after having dropped the previous four. The Hilltoppers were led by Megan Argabright and Aquila Orr, who each tallied 20 kills.
Julia Noe had a match-high 52 assists for WKU while Kelly Hofmeyer handled the backrow for the host squad with 27 digs.
The first frame saw the Privateers fall behind 1-0 before scoring the next four points to take a three-point lead. UNO would not relinquish that lead for the whole frame, building the lead to as many as eight points at 20-12.
WKU would cut into the lead and bring it down to 24-22 after a 7-2 rally, but a Kaley Hubbard kill would end the set in favor of the visiting Privateers at 25-22. Kovacevic had five kills in the frame while Asebroek had service aces midway in the stanza during the UNO run that extended the lead to eight.
The Privateers looked to extend their set advantage in the second frame as they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. After taking a 5-1 advantage, WKU scored 7 of 10 points to knot the score at eight.
UNO would eventually take back the lead and extend it to four at 16-12 before the Hilltoppers tied it up at 20. After one final tie at 22, WKU reeled off 3 of 4 to close out the set with a 25-23 frame win.
With the first two sets split, a pivotal third frame saw several lead changes until the teams were knotted at 10. A serving error by the Privateers would open the flood gates for the host squad.
WKU who went on a 15-6 run, breaking open a close set, including a 5-0 spurt at the end to take a 2-1 edge with a 25-16 win in the frame.
Needing a win to stay alive, UNO broke open a 5-5 tie in the fourth frame with three straight points, two of which came from Loyd kills. The advantage would not escape the Privateers until the Hilltoppers briefly took a lead at 20-19 and 21-20.
A service error at 21-20 by WKU would put the service into the hands of the visitors from UNO, who would go on a 5-1 run to take a 25-22 victory in the set, forcing a winner take all fifth frame.
In the final set, WKU stormed out of the gates to take a 7-2 lead. The Privateers would pull within one point on several occasions, finally tying the set at 14 to force extra points. The Hilltoppers would take a 15-14 lead and then close it out 16-14 on a block.
The Privateers will play their third consecutive road match when they next play Middle Tennessee at 2 p.m on Sunday afternoon.
