The Lady Toppers’ motto for the 2009 season is “A Winning Tradition.” In recent years, the team has saved some of its most important wins for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Since 2000, Western has advanced to six out of eight Sun Belt Tournament Championship matches. They won three of those tournaments, and after Thursday’s four-set [...]

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 [...]

Whenever the Lady Toppers have broken from a huddle this season, they’ve yelled “back-to-back.” This week, they finally have the chance to make the dream of back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles a reality.
“We know we can do it,” Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “We just have to show everyone else we can — again.”
The [...]

Momentum should be on the Lady Topper’s side as they head into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament this week.
Western concluded the regular season with sweeps over Troy (25-14, 25-18, 25-20) on Friday and South Alabama (25-13, 25-18, 25-16) on Saturday. With the victories, the Lady Toppers secured the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, [...]

Lady Toppers Head Coach Travis Hudson announced four signees for the 2010 squad on Wednesday.
Janee Diggins (Indianapolis, Ind.), Ashley Potts (Louisville, Ky.), Lindsey Spears (Indianapolis, Ind.), and Melanie Stutsman (Floyds Knob, Ind.) will all join the Lady Toppers as freshmen next season.
Diggins is a two-time All-County selection who holds school records for kills and solo [...]

The Lady Toppers celebrate after scoring a point in the third set of last Friday’s match against Florida International University in Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers fell to the FIU Golden Panthers 3-1, making them 21-8 for the season. TANNER CURTIS/HERALD

The recipe for obtaining the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament is [...]

Sophomore setter Lauren Stuckel jumps for the ball during Friday night’s volleyball match against Florida International. ALEX/SLITZ/HERALD

Emotions ran high Saturday afternoon for Senior Day in Diddle Arena.
Senior outside hitter Aquila Orr, out since September with a torn anterior crucial ligament and meniscus, started the game for the Lady Toppers (22-8, 11-4 Sun Belt Conference) and served three points before being substituted out to a standing ovation.
“It was very heartfelt,” senior middle [...]

Western senior Lindsey Gould, Louisville, Ky., celebrates with a team mate during a match against Memphis on September 12, 2009. Western swept Memphis 25-14, 25-18, 25-15. ALBERT CESARE/ HERALD

Senior defensive specialist Lindsey Gould has been one of the best servers in the Sun Belt Conference during her career, ranking No. 3 in service aces in [...]

With Western’s baseball season still three months away, motivation may be hard to come by for the team. But the Toppers say they have all the motivation they need.
“Our goal this year is to win the regional,” sophomore shortstop Logan Robbins said. “We came close last year, so we are working harder this year to [...]