2024 CUSA Championship Central
 
EL PASO, TEXAS – The No. 1 seed WKU and No. 3 NM State came away victorious in Saturday’s CUSA Volleyball Championship semifinals at Memorial Gym to set up Sunday’s championship match. The Hilltoppers and the Aggies will face off for the tournament title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year at 12 p.m. MT Sunday on ESPN+.

Match Five: (1) WKU 3, (4) Kennesaw State 0 | Box Score
 
No. 1 WKU will make their sixth consecutive CUSA Championship appearance after defeating No. 4 Kennesaw State in three straight sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-14). WKU had a balanced offensive effort as the Hilltoppers recorded a total of 42 kills on an impressive .507 hitting clip.
 
Kenadee Coyle had a lights out performance, posting nine kills on 10 attempts for a .892 hitting percentage. CUSA Player of the Year Kaylee Cox led the Hilltoppers with 10 kills and seven digs. CUSA Callie Bauer dished out 33 assists and added five digs. Abby Schaefer recorded a match-high 11 digs. Izzy Van De Wiele chipped in eight kills, while Alivia Skidmore and Faith Young tallied seven and six kills respectively.
 
Kennesaw State’s Manu Johnsen was the leading scorer for the Owls, posting eight kills and four digs, while Olivia Burrage chipped in seven kills with a .417 hitting percentage. Kourtney Brown (10) and Kaeley Walz (14) combined for 24 assists. Leah Freeman tallied a team-high seven digs.

Match Six: (3) NM State 3, (2) UTEP 2 | Box Score
 
No. 3 NM State upset No. 2 UTEP in a five-set thriller (22-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12) on Saturday afternoon. Defensive prowess led the Aggies, as the team recorded more digs (52) and blocks (7) than UTEP. The Miners end their season with a historic overall record of 27-5.
Mari Sharp erupted for 20 kills with a .378 hitting percentage and 10 digs, while Starr Williams shined with 18 kills on a .441 hitting clip. Darian Markham tallied a match-high 19 digs and chipped in four assists. In the Aggies 6-2 offense, Nellie Reese posted 26 assists and Rilen Garcia recorded 22.
Ema Uskokovic led UTEP with 15 kills and four blocks. Kaya Weaver recorded a match-high ,667 hitting percentage with 10 kills on 15 attempts with two errors. Kalia Kohler nearly posted a double-double with 25 assists and eight digs, while Mattie Gantt tallied 14 assists and three digs. Torrance Lovesee also nearly recorded a double-double with 10 digs and nine kills.