Western Kentucky volleyball coach Travis Hudson announced Wednesday that three players inked national letters of intent to join the Lady Topper program next fall.

WKU signee Payton Frederick of Louisville won a pair of state championships at Assumption. Additionally, Frederick will become the first second-generation player in Lady Topper history as her mother, the former Cindy Edlin, lettered at WKU under Charlie Daniels from 1985-87. Frederick was part of Assumption’s state championship squads in both 2015 and 2017 while also helping the squad achieve district champion status from 2015-17 and regional champion status in 2015 and 2017. Frederick is the first of two newcomers that landed on the AVCA Under Armour High School All-American list and was also tabbed an all-district athlete in 2016.

Katie Isenbarger of Zionsville, Ind., plays at Zionsville High School where she is a three-sport athlete also competing in basketball and track & field. Isenbarger is the second signee to land on the AVCA Under Armour High School All-American list this season. As a member of her high school squad, Isenbarger helped Zionsville to sectional championships from 2015-17 in addition to regional champion status and a final four appearance in 2016. The middle hitter achieved the 1,000-kill milestone during her prep career and was recently named to the All-Hoosier Crossroads Conference Team.

Additionally, Isenbarger earned First-Team All-State status from the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association (ICGSA) following her junior campaign and was also tabbed an AAU Academic All-American.

Lauren Matthews earned four varsity letters in volleyball at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. The middle hitter owns the school’s career blocking record with 541 in addition to the career kill record tallying 1,121 during her prep days. Matthews helped her squad to its first sectional championship since 1979 and was tabbed First-Team All-State during her final two seasons.

TUDOR ANNOUNCES FIVE SOFTBALL SIGNEES

Five players signed national letters of intent to join Western Kentucky’s softball program for the 2018-19 season, head coach Amy Tudor said Wednesday. The class includes Taylor Davis (Huntsville, Ala.), Macy Murphy (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Jordan Ridge (Louisville), Sydne Solomon (Lewisburg, Tenn.) and Kennedy Sullivan (Georgetown).

“I am happy to introduce and recognize this smart and talented group of future WKU student-athletes,” Tudor said. “Watching and getting to know most of this group for several years now makes this day even more special.”

Davis is a three-time all-state honoree who earned all-tournament status in the state championship three times while also picking up super all-state, first-team all-state and two second-team all-state accolades in her prep career. Davis racked up 97 stolen bases and a .465 batting average.

Murphy has been a three-year varsity starter for Riverdale High School. Her junior season, Murphy posted a .329 batting average with six doubles, a triple, a home run, 18 RBIs, 17 runs, 10 walks and six stolen bases.

The right-handed utility player has earned all-Louisville metro team status each of the last two seasons in addition to all-region honors both seasons. Ridge was named to the region’s all-tournament team in 2015 and is involved in the National Honor Society off the field.

Solomon was named her respective district’s offensive MVP after the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. The righty also earned all-state honors in 2016. Before sitting the 2017 season out due to injury, Solomon had a .404 batting average and seven home runs her sophomore season. During her freshman campaign, Solomon batted .448 with seven long balls.

Sullivan, a right-handed pitcher, racked up three all-region honors, was named the region player of the year and is a two-time all-state honoree. Sullivan is also a first-ream all-academic honoree.

During her junior season, Sullivan had a 0.76 ERA in 129 innings pitched with 219 strikeouts while batting .364 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs. In 2016, Sullivan notched a 0.92 ERA in 174 innings tossed with 298 strikeouts and a .373 batting average with 30 RBIs.

WKU GOLF SIGNS IN-STATE STANDOUT LOY

Western Kentucky women’s golf coach Adam Gary announced Wednesday the signing of Jamestown native Lizzie Loy to a national letter of intent in the 2017-18 signing class.

“Lizzie has shown improvement every year since she committed to WKU,” Gary said in a news release. “Her hard work and competitiveness helped her achieve a No. 2 rank in the state of Kentucky and make the all-state team her senior year. We are looking forward to having her on The Hill next year.”

Loy was named a first-team all-state selection in 2017 out of Russell County High School, as well as Region 9 Player of the Year. She notched five individual high school tournament wins as a senior, the most of any boys’ or girls’ player in the state.

She’s ranked No. 2 overall in the state of Kentucky and No. 2 in her class by Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings.

Three teams post perfect scores on GSR Report

WKU had three teams post perfect scores and all Hilltopper and Lady Topper sport programs scored well above the Federal Graduation Rate in the NCAA’s most recent release of the Graduation Success Rate Report.

WKU athletics posted an overall GSR of 82, maintaining its standing as one of the top producers of graduates in the NCAA. Led by perfect scores by softball, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers posted eight scores of 81 or higher. It is the third consecutive mark of 82 overall or better for WKU.

Volleyball has posted a perfect GSR score 12 straight times, every year the program has been eligible to report while softball posted its fifth consecutive perfect score. Women’s tennis posted a perfect GSR score for the third consecutive year and for the fifth time in program history.

WKU’s largest jumps over the federal rate came on the hardwood as both men’s basketball (75) and women’s basketball (90) nearly doubled the nation’s average rate. Men’s basketball federal rate was a 42-point improvement over the federal rate of 33 while women’s basketball improved on the federal rate of 47 by 43 points.

The GSRs released Wednesday are based on the four freshmen classes in Division I entering from 2007 to 2010. The NCAA calculates the rates based on the number of student-athletes who graduated within six years after initially enrolling, in addition to those who left an institution prior to graduating but would have been academically eligible to compete.