BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Middle Tennessee State University volleyball team took its first Conference USA sweep of the season Friday, losing in three sets at Western Kentucky inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers won 25-23, 25-13 and 25-22. Middle Tennessee came in at 14-5 overall and 5-2 in league play, while Western Kentucky moved to 13-6 and 7-0 in Conference USA.
WKU edged the first set after Middle Tennessee held early leads, then dominated the second set and closed the third despite a late Blue Raider push. The match never reached a fourth set.
Gabrielle Clinkscale paced Middle Tennessee with 12 kills, and Sophia Henry added eight. As a team the Blue Raiders finished with 31 kills on 101 attempts and a .129 hitting percentage; Western Kentucky answered with 38 kills and a .286 hitting night plus 10 aces.
The result left Middle Tennessee still above .500 in conference play but underlined how small the margin is against a Hilltopper team that has yet to lose a league match. The Blue Raiders will reset before the next Conference USA weekend on the college schedule.
Full box scores remain posted through the university athletics site, and Middle Tennessee continues a Conference USA slate that still has several weeks remaining before postseason seeding.
Middle Tennessee dropped to 11-44 all-time against Western Kentucky with the Friday sweep, a series gap that shows how often these Conference USA neighbors have leaned toward the Hilltoppers.
Coaches will review serve-receive and middle-block timing after a night when Western Kentucky aces and hitting efficiency created separation in every set. The Blue Raiders still control their own seeding path if they answer the next league tests with cleaner sideout volleyball.
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