| Marshall Series // Sept. 24-25 // Diddle Arena | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 13: Marshall (4-9) | Fri., Sept. 24 | 6 p.m. CT | Facebook Live | CUSA.tv ($) | The Edge 98.3 FM // Listen Live | Livestats | ||||
| Match 14: Marshall | Sat., Sept. 25 | 12 p.m. CT | Facebook Live | CUSA.tv ($) | ESPN 102.7 FM // Listen Live | Livestats | ||||
| Tickets | Flexible Ticket Package | Single game tickets available at entrance ($6 adults, $3 youth) | ||||
| Promotions | Friday: Free Slim Chickens to first 100 students Saturday: Show your WKU Football vs. Indiana ticket for free admission |
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| Match Notes | WKU | Marshall | ||||
| Series History | WKU leads all-time series, 15-2 | Full History | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUVolleyball  | @WKU Volleyball  | Facebook  | YouTube  | Tik Tok |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – No. 22 WKU Volleyball will open their 2021 Conference USA as Marshall visits The Hill Friday and Saturday. The Hilltoppers have opened the season with an 11-1 record following a weekend sweep in the WKU Invite. The Tops are 15-2 all-time against The Herd, including an 11-match winning streak dating back to 2014.
Both weekend matches will be streamed for free on Facebook Live via the Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network (HSSN) Facebook page with Brett Williams on the call. The matches will also be available on CUSA.tv, Conference USA's home for live events, for fans who elect to subscribe.
As is the case for every Hilltopper match this season, all the action will also be available on the radio with Brett Williams on the play-by-play call. Friday night's match will be on 98.3 The Edge in Bowling Green while Saturday's contest will be back on ESPN Radio 102.7.
WKU Volleyball's 33-match conference winning streak is the longest of the sort in NCAA Division I. Sacred Heart is in second at 24 while Texas is the only other team with a streak above 20, coming in at 22. The Hilltoppers also own the longest road winning streak in all of NCAA Volleyball with 16-straight wins.
The Tops moved up a spot in this week's poll to No. 22. They hosted the WKU Invite last weekend and completed a clean sweep of Ohio, Austin Peay, and St. John's (New York). Marshall enters league play following a weekend tournament where the Herd won one of three matches, downing Morehead State while falling to No. 4 Pittsburgh and Toledo.
Last season, Marshall finished with a 10-6 record while going 8-4 in conference play. In last year's abbreviated season, the Tops and Herd squared off in Huntington. WKU won both matches, winning the overall sets 6-1. Marshall was the lone squad out of the East Division to win a set off of the Hilltoppers last season.
PARKING
On Friday night, fans can park in Parking Structure 2 (located between the football stadium and E.A. Diddle Arena) and enter through the usually Gate 2 entrance. Due to the home football game on Saturday, volleyball parking will be located in Parking Structure 1 (on the corner of University Blvd. and College Heights Blvd.). On Saturday, fans will still need to enter through Gate 2.
TICKETS
Flexible season ticket packages are on sale now and include 13 vouchers that fans can use at any regular-season home match in whatever fashion they choose. Fans can opt for the traditional use of one ticket for all 13 home matches or bring a group to a few matches. Flexible ticket packages are available for $50 at WKUTickets.com, by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED or by coming to the WKU Ticket Office during regular business hours.
Single match tickets are available at the door on game day or online during the week of each match.
Additionally, fans can receive free admission to Saturday's noon volleyball match by showing their WKU Football vs. Indiana game ticket.
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU opened the season ranked for just the fourth time in program history during the 2021 fall campaign, also marking the first time the team will do so in back-to-back campaigns. The Hilltoppers came in at No. 25 to begin the 2020-21 spring season. In 2013, WKU was ranked in the AVCA Preseason poll for the first time, coming in at No. 21 before owning the 22nd slot prior to the 2016 season.
- WKU ranks No. 22 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, up one spot from last week's mark. This follows two weeks at the highest ranking in program history (15) to open the season. The Hilltoppers have now been ranked in 10 of the last 11 seasons and received votes for 12-straight campaigns.
- WKU Volleyball is more accessible than ever with radio broadcasts for every match. The Tops are 1 of just 10 Division I Volleyball programs that currently have live radio for home and away matches.
- This weekend's matches will be the 18th and 19th all-time meetings between WKU and Marshall; a series that WKU leads 15-2.
- The Tops have won 33-straight regular season Conference USA contests with their last loss dating back to October of 2018 – the longest streak across all of Division I volleyball.
- WKU has won 12 straight sets and has only lost 5 sets all season, with three coming in the loss to [RV] Ole Miss.
- WKU has been predicted to win the East Division in the Conference USA Preseason Poll voted by the league's coaches. Paige Briggs, Nadia Dieudonne, and Lauren Matthews were all selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team. After meeting in last year's tournament championship Rice was predicted to win the West Division again this season.
- Lauren Matthews leads the team in kills this season with 163. Matthews is currently 14th in all-time kills by a Hilltopper at 1,137.
- Friday and Saturday's matches will be the seventh and eighth home matches of the season for the Tops, in which they are 5-1. This weekend's outings will conclude an eight-match homestand for WKU.
- WKU Volleyball is more accessible than ever with radio broadcasts for every match. The Tops are 1 of just 10 Division I Volleyball programs that currently have live radio for home and away matches.
- The Tops have held opponents to an average .137 hitting clip. Marshall enters the weekend averaging a .177 hitting percentage.
