A well-balanced Western Kentucky volleyball team punched its ticket to the Conference USA Tournament championship match on Saturday after a 76-minute, 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-14) sweep of Kennesaw State in El Paso, Texas.

Senior outside hitter Kaylee Cox was the only one to reach double-digit kills, but that didn’t matter as WKU (27-6 overall) hit for a .507 percentage on the afternoon with four other Hilltoppers finishing with at least five kills. The WKU defense held the Owls (14-17 overall) to a meager .125 hitting clip while also collecting four blocks, led by sophomore middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele with three.

WKU only posted one hitting error in the entire first set as each player with at least one offensive attempt posted a hitting percentage over .400. Cox led the way with five kills on seven attempts, while senior right side hitter Kenadee Coyle and freshman pin hitter Faith Young went a perfect 3-for-3 at the net. The Hilltoppers’ offensive efforts were good enough for a .682 hitting percentage. WKU continued to produce at the service line, with Cox and redshirt junior setter Callie Bauer posting a service ace each.

While the second set may have been slower offensively for the Hilltoppers — hitting .370 compared to .682 — Cox and Alivia Skidmore continued to perform with three kills each. Six different Hilltoppers recorded at least one kill each, including junior middle hitter Gabby Weihe. Skidmore grabbed the sole service ace of the set, while junior libero Abby Schaefer recorded five digs, bringing her total to eight through two.

WKU surged back to a .500 hitting percentage in the final set as Coyle took the reins and poured in four kills. Van De Wiele added another three kills to her total with Cox and Skidmore adding another two. Both Young and Van De Wiele stuffed one solo block each, while freshman defensive specialist Camila Adams recorded her sixth service ace of the season to send the Hilltoppers to the championship match.

Bauer finished with 33 assists and a team-best three aces. Van De Wiele finished with three blocks, including one solo effort. Schaefer led in digs with 11

The Hilltoppers move on to the championship match of the CUSA tournament. First serve is set for Sunday at noon. The opponent will be determined by the NMSU/UTEP match.