Errors proved costly for the Lady Toppers volleyball team this weekend as they fell to 1-2 at the season-opening Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.

Western lost to Lipscomb 3-0 (23-25, 17-25, 25-17) and Tennessee 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 12-15) on Saturday, but rebounded to defeat Tennessee Tech 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) on Sunday morning.

“We struggled a good portion of the weekend,” head coach Travis Hudson said. “We were very nervous and seemed to have no rhythm.”
Western combined for 39 errors in their two Saturday games, with 27 of those coming against Tennessee. The team committed 16 errors in Sunday’s win.

One bright spot for the team was freshmen libero Sarah Rogers, who led Western with 21 kills in both of Saturday’s games, her first two contests as a Hilltopper.

“Sarah Rogers may have had the best weekend of any Hilltopper,” Hudson said. “She’s a competitor, and she seemed to get the jitters off early.”

Hudson said he thought the team improved in their game against Tennessee, ranked no. 40 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll.

Western took the home team to five sets before being defeated.

Rogers said the Lady Toppers came back on Sunday with something to prove against Tennessee Tech.

“It was crucial for us to leave the tournament with a win to build our confidence,” Rogers said.

Western controlled the game from start to finish and managed to win their first game of the season, aided by a team-high 15 kills from senior middle hitter Brittany Bowen.

“(The win) showed character and showed who we are as a team,” Bowen said.
Sophomore Lauren Stuckel had 29 assists in the finale, which gave her 28 or more assists in each game of the weekend.

Western travels to Nashville to face Belmont (0-4) at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Bruins were picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun Conference’s preseason coaches poll.