Red Towel Roundtable: WKU Volleyball

Will: One would argue that WKU’s most consistent sport over the past 20 years has been the Lady Hilltoppers Volleyball team. I would like to attribute this to coach Travis Hudson’s steady coaching hand being on the bench for the duration of that time frame. In the past month, WKU’s recruiting class was ranked in the top 25 in the entire nation. Now, I know to most of you all think “Why is this important? It’ss volleyball!” Well I’ll tell you why it is important; for those of us who believe WKU to be a sports savvy school, all teams have to be clicking on all cylinders in order to make WKU what it is. In the past few years, the Hilltoppers have ramped up their intensity of play. They were Sun Belt regular season champions in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and Tourney champs the first two years, and made a run at it last year before being ousted by Troy in the SBC tournament. This loss in the first round was a major blow to all that WKU has worked for. That being said however, the Hilltoppers recent success could most likely be contributed to the great play from-now graduated- defensive specialist Ashley Potts. Potts was the most consistent player for WKU and she was the leader of the team. Now for the Hilltoppers they stand on the edge of the unknown as Potts departs. With that point however they have another capable player sitting in waiting – and that player is sophomore Georgia O’Connell. O’Connell played next to Potts and learned the ropes before Potts graduated this past spring. From what I’ve seen, WKU is in good hands.

The Hilltoppers have a lot to be proud of in their volleyball team. They are expected to enter the 2014 season ranked once again and should continue their dominance in Conference USA. With O’Connell coming up, and Hudson still on the bench, WKU will continue to prosper.