The injury bug keeps attacking the Lady Toppers, but that hasn’t stopped them from their winning ways.

Sophomore middle hitter Tiffany Elmore injured her knee in practice last week, a month after the team lost senior outside hitter Aquila Orr for the year with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

The team is 14-3 since Orr’s injury and won its games against Denver and North Texas last weekend without Elmore.

“I have said all year that our greatest strength is our depth,” coach Travis Hudson said. “Every kid knows their role on their team, and none of them are afraid to step up.”

Although sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Williams didn’t see much playing time early in the season, Williams started in both victories over the weekend and had 16 kills in the two games.

“I was waiting to get my shot to play,” Williams said. “I played my hardest, and I’m definitely happy with how I played.”

Western (16-6, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference) is in the midst of a stretch of six games in nine days, but freshman outside hitter Jordyn Skinner doesn’t see fatigue being a problem, even with only five bench players.

“We just have to get past it and play,” Skinner said. “It just gives us more motivation to step up.”

Elmore’s knee injury has her listed as day-to-day, but senior middle hitter Brittany Bowen said she isn’t worried about the team’s matchup against Middle Tennessee State tonight.

“The injuries we have are non-issues because everyone on our team can play,” Bowen said. “We all just have to keep showing our maturity.”

One of the biggest challenges Hudson has faced this year is the necessity for constant lineup changes. Because of the injuries, some players have had to play in places on the court that they aren’t accustomed to.

“It has been tiring trying to find lineups that work, but our players will play at their best no matter where they are put,” Hudson said.

Skinner and Bowen have both moved around on the court in lieu of recent injuries, but Bowen said she hasn’t had any problem adjusting.

“There is not much of a difference between the two middle hitter positions, so it has not been too bad,” Bowen said.

Western will have to use all of its depth tonight against the Blue Raiders, who beat the Lady Toppers in five sets on Sept. 25.

“Even though we have been injury-rattled, our intensity will stay the same,” Skinner said. “We will have to keep that up to beat Middle.”

The Lady Toppers will face the Blue Raiders 7 p.m. tonight in Diddle Arena.