The No. 3-seed Lady Toppers avoided a rough start to advance to the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Thursday night.

Western (25-8, 13-4 Sun Belt) defeated No. 6 seed Denver in four sets (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-18).

The Lady Toppers started the first set with four service errors in their first four chances. Denver led by as many as seven points and won the first set.

“You just can’t start a match off like that,” junior outside hitter Emily Teegarden said. “They came out with more energy.”

Western responded by hitting .476 to cruise to a victory in the second set.

“Our kids responded with toughness,” Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “They stood up and were ready to battle.”

Teegarden and senior outside hitter Brittany Bowen were major factors in the Lady Toppers’ victory, both tallying 12 kills and .429 hitting percentages in the match.

“We weren’t great offensively, but those two shined bright for us,” Hudson said.

Western hit only .191 in the match, but the Lady Toppers were able to hold Denver to a .064 hitting percentage.

The Lady Toppers now await the winner of a match between No. 2 seed Middle Tennesee State and No. 7 seed Arkansas-Little Rock. Western will play its second-round match at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Diddle Arena.