MACOMB, Ill. ? Junior Monique Houston tallied a career-high 27 kills, but it was not enough to push the Western Illinois volleyball team to victory over IPFW as they fell 3-2 (23-30, 30-26, 26-30, 30-22, 15-17).

The Wheeling, Ill., native also recorded a season high .417 (27k-2e-60ta) hitting percentage and added 10 digs for her second double-double of the season.

“Monique [Houston] did a great job,” said head coach Kym McKay. “She is really developing her style as a hitter and adding some advanced elements to her offensive game. It is very exciting to see her perform like she has in the last few matches and we are looking for her to continue to improve.”

Game five was a back and forth battle, with 13 ties and four lead changes. The Westerwinds (8-12, 5-3 The Summit League) took the first two-point lead of the game when they went up 12-10 on a kill by Houston. The lead was short-lived as the Mastodons (13-8, 7-3 The Summit League) fought back to tie the match at 13. IPFW's Jessica Miller and Houston traded swings for the remainder of the match, but Miller hit the final kill for the Mastodons to earn the victory.

“Both teams were very similar and both coaches have very similar strategies,” said McKay. “When you look at the scores you see two evenly matched teams. At the end things went in IPFW's favor, but we need to be proud of how we played.”

The Westerwinds took an early 2-0 lead in game one that they held on to until IPFW tied the score at 12. The Mastodons then took their final lead of the game on the next point on a kill by Cynara Martins.

In game two Western took the lead at 2-1 and never allowed IPFW to get closer than one point the rest of way. The Westerwinds used a four-point run late in the game to secure the win.

Game three became another defensive battle with 13 tie scores and five lead changes early. IPFW broke a 16-all tie with a four-point run to take the final lead of the game.

Western started out game four with a 0-2 deficit, but fought back to tie the match at 10. The Westerwinds started a four-point run at 7-10 to take the lead from IPFW. The Mastodons tied the match again at 15, but Houston landed a well-placed kill to put Western up for the remainder of the game.

“It was a great volleyball match,” McKay said. “Each team had its moments and neither team played poorly and that is reflected in the scores and the stats.”

The two teams competed evenly throughout the match, with IPFW holding a slight advantage in the hitting percentage column with a .278 (88k-22e-237ta) mark to Western's .272 (79k-16e-232ta). The Westerwinds out-blocked the Mastodons 6-4.

Western faces UMKC, Friday, October 19 at Waste Management Court at Western Hall at 7 p.m. The Westerwinds then travel to IUPUI, Saturday, October 20 for a 6 p.m. match.

Notes: Western had three players in double-digits in kills and six players in double-digits in digs....senior Ashley Baker tallied her ninth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 25 digs...junior Sarah Trimpe recorded her 10th double-double of the year with 70 assists and 21 digs... her 70 assists tie a career-high set against Valparaiso, November 17, 2006.