MACOMB, Ill. - Sophomore Amy Sauerwein (Belleville, Ill./Belleville Althoff Catholic) collected the first double-double of the 2005 Western Illinois volleyball season with 13 kills and 11 digs as Western Illinois defeated Northern Illinois 3-0 (32-30, 30-28, 30-25) Tuesday evening. The win marked the first of the season for Western as well as the sixth-straight on the team?s home court, and was also the first win against the Huskies since the 1994 season.The first game went back-and-forth with seven tied scores and four lead changes. Western (1-3) hit a match-high .310 while recording 19 digs to Northern?s (4-3) .189 on 13 kills. Western went on a five-point rally late in the game to reclaim the lead and take the victory 32-30. The high intensity displayed in the opening game carried over into game two where Western hit .229 to Northern?s match-low .089. Each team recorded 14 kills in the game, but Western was able to capitalize on the Huskies? 10 attack errors for the 30-25 win.Western was down early in the third game but came back for the 30-25 win with a match-high 20 kills. Junior Jennifer Alexander (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) gave Western a 29-25 lead on an ace, and senior Jenna Yurs (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards/Elgin C.C.) clinched the match on a game-ending kill.Alexander recorded a match-high 19 kills to bring her career-total to 1,192, just four shy of moving into second place on Western?s all-time record list. Freshman Mo Houston (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) led the team with a .375 attack percentage on 12 kills in 24 attempts, and sophomore Ashley Baker (Fort Wayne, Ind./Effingham) hit .333 on 12 kills in 27 attempts. Freshman Sarah Trimpe (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) tallied 41 assists, bringing her season-total to 143.Northern?s Kate McCullagh led the team with 14 kills, while Jenny Dziubla added 37 assists and Gina Guide recorded 18 digs.?One of our team goals was to win our home opener, and we can now check that off of the list,? said fourth-year head coach Kym McKay. ?It feels really good to have one of our goals already under our belts this early in the season. To win our home opener and beat Northern Illinois in the same night - a team with a really great history - is quite an accomplishment.??The win was a result of taking advantage of one of their starters being out and then controlling things on our side of the net while executing our scouting report. We had great feedback from players not on the court tonight, as well as great guidance from assistant coach Steve Williams and student coach Amanda Barnard that allowed us to play some really great volleyball,? added McKay.Western will now have a two-day break in action before returning to the court in this weekend?s Pizza Hut Invitational. Western will begin tournament action Friday evening at 7 p.m. against IPFW before facing Murray State and Southern Mississippi Saturday.