WKU Volleyball Triumphs Over Coastal Carolina in Thrilling NCAA Championship 1st Round

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Women’s Volleyball team squared off against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in their NCAA postseason opener. The Hilltoppers retained the dominance they carried in the regular season and defeated the Chanticleers fair and square.

Western Kentucky entered the 1 December fixture against the Chanticleers with a 29-4 regular season record. In fact, the Hilltoppers were on an electrifying 24-match winning streak. Adding victory number 25 to their momentum, the Hilltoppers won the first round of their NCAA playoffs with a clean sweep.

WKU Hilltoppers grind their way to the second round of the NCAA playoffs

WKU Volleyball tweeted about the hard-fought victory attained by its women’s team on its official X account. The tweet said, “That’s win no. 30 on the season, and onto the next round for us.” The Western Kentucky Women’s Volleyball Team faced a lot of trouble in the match. However, they made sure to remain in control at all times during the game.

The Hilltoppers won the first round of their NCAA playoffs with scores of 25-14, 25-20, and 25-23. The Chanticleers tried putting up a fight in the win-or-go-home match but eventually got outclassed by the Hilltoppers. The final set seemed to be anybody’s call, as both sides repeatedly equalized the scores in the NCAA playoffs match.

However, after reaching 23 points, the Chanticleers hit a dead end. Although both teams seemed to be evenly matched in the final set, WKU wielded a superior offensive team. In fact, the Hilltoppers constantly nicked off valuable points via service aces that made all the difference in the match.

The high-voltage offense that steered the boat of the Hilltoppers

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers landed seven scorching hot service aces against Coastal Carolina. This kept challenging the defense of the Chanticleers, who couldn’t respond with more than one service ace. Moreover, Western Kentucky also averaged a whopping hit rate of 0.478 percent during the NCAA postseason opener.

Paige Briggs and Kaylee Cox led the offensive crusade of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and scored points off almost every kill attempt. It seemed as if both women tried to constantly outdo the other, as Briggs posted 18 kills, while Cox scored 17 kills. 

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On top of it, Briggs maintained an average hit rate of 0.531 percent while Cox posted an average hit rate of 0.462 percent. These numbers are way above the average mark, especially considering it was an NCAA playoff match. Will the players of Western Kentucky be able to continue with the same vigor and emerge victorious in the second round of the playoffs as well?

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