<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0jD8L0_0vl7JIxs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0jD8L0_0vl7JIxs00" width="1650" height="1100" ><figcaption>Photo by: Evan Brown/WKU Athletics</figcaption></figure><p><b>BOWLING GREEN, KY. –</b> WKU Volleyball will travel to Jacksonville, Ala. to take on Jacksonville State Sept. 27/28 to open the 2024 CUSA regular season. </p><p><b>GAME INFO</b></p><ul><li>Watch: ESPN+ </li></ul><p><b>ABOUT THE TOPS</b></p><ul><li>The Tops won nine-straight sets over the weekend to cruise to a 3-0 weekend record and improve to 7-6 overall. </li><li>Kaylee Cox and Izzy Van De Wiele were named CUSA Offensive (Cox) and Defensive (Van De Wiele) Players of the Week. </li><li>Kaylee Cox led the offense with 49 kills and a .494 hitting percentage. At the net she finished with eight total blocks for .89 blocks per set. </li><li>Van De Wiele led at the net with 11 total blocks and 17 kills in nine sets of play.</li><li>With the three wins, Head Coach Travis Hudson is now two wins away from breaking E. A. Diddle's wins record with a single sport (760). </li></ul><p><b>QUOTABLE</b></p><p>"Jacksonville State is one of those teams, I'm telling you, that has a terrific coaching staff," said Head Coach Travis Hudson. "He's in his second or third year but he's a proven winner. He built a program at Samford and went to NCAA tournaments there and he will do the same thing at Jacksonville State. He's a great coach, his teams play really, really hard. It's Western Kentucky's first time going to Jacksonville State since we've been in the league so there'll be a great atmosphere there. They won't beat themselves; I can promise you, and he will have a plan. We'll have to stand up to the emotion of it." </p><div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HsVqb2wQ8ok?si=-xZGyhfDIxr3K4-V" frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div><p><b>SERIES INFORMATION</b></p><p>This is the fourth match between the two programs with Jax State joining CUSA in 2023. WKU hosted the Gamecocks during the 2023 season and faced them in the CUSA tournament and are currently 3-0. This will be WKU's first time playing JSU in Jacksonville, Ala.</p><p><b>SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS</b></p><ul><li>Jax State is currently 7-6 on the season with wins over Chattanooga and Texas Southern. </li><li>Jax State lost to Arkansas State in five sets, a team WKU beat in three. </li><li>The Gamecocks are led offensively by Kayla Williams with 185 kills, 3.63 k/s, and a .176 hitting percentage. </li><li>At the back row, JSU is led by Brooklyn Schiffli with 214 digs. At the net, they're led by Sanni Rantanen with 34 blocks. </li></ul></div></body>

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WKU Volleyball Heads to Alabama to Open 2024 Conference Play

BOWLING GREEN, KY. – WKU Volleyball will travel to Jacksonville, Ala. to take on Jacksonville State Sept. 27/28 to open the 2024 CUSA regular season. The Tops won nine-straight sets over the weekend to cruise to a 3-0 weekend record and improve to 7-6 overall. Kaylee Cox and Izzy...