Western Kentucky opened the Conference USA Volleyball Tournament with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 32-30) win over Florida International on Friday in El Paso, Texas.

WKU sophomore middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele lead the way with 19 total kills, tying her career high. Four different Hilltoppers finished in double-digit kills, while Van De Wiele also led defensively with eight blocks. WKU also shined at the service line, posting eight total service aces led by senior outside hitter Katie Howard with three.

FIU (8-25) took the first set of the match as Van De Wiele posted four total kills with Kaylee Cox and senior right side hitter Kenadee Coyle right behind her with three kills each. While the Hilltoppers bested the Panthers in virtually every stat category, it was the four service errors that proved to be the difference.

In the second set, WKU cruised to victory thanks to a .720 hitting percentage. It was all about the offensive efforts from the underclassmen as Van De Wiele and freshman pin hitter Faith Young combined for 10 of WKU’s 18 kills in the set. Not only was the .720 hitting percentage responsible for the win, the Hilltoppers also added three service aces to their stat line. Howard and Cox were responsible for the success, with Howard posting two and Cox responsible for the other. At the net, four different Hilltoppers came together to bring the block total to five.

Held to their lowest single-set hitting percentage (.091) of the match, the Hilltoppers capitalized on 10 Panther hitting errors and two reception errors to take the set. Five different Hilltoppers contributed on offense with freshman outside hitter Alivia Skidmore leading the way with four kills. Coyle, Van De Wiele and Young also made stops at the net with two blocks apiece and added another four blocks to the team total to improve to nine total blocks.

Needing 32 to win the match, the Hilltoppers earned the victory thanks to a .340 hitting percentage to FIU’s .255. Leading the charge in the fifth set was Van De Wiele with seven kills, bringing her total to 19 during the match and tying a career high. Adding on to their offensive efforts at the net was redshirt junior setter Callie Bauer, who collected two service aces with Howard posting another as well. Coyle and Van De Wiele both had two blocks each to bring the team’s total to 11 on the day.

Four different Hilltoppers finished with double-digit kills: Cox, Skidmore, Young, and Van De Wiele. Cox earned another double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Abby Schaefer led in digs with 16 and Howard led in service aces with three.

The Hilltoppers move on to the semifinals in the CUSA tournament championship. First serve will be Saturday at noon. WKU will play the winner of the MTSU/Kennesaw State match.