TULSA, Okla. - Junior Monique Houston recorded a team-high 21 kills and recorded 10 digs to help the Western Illinois volleyball team to a key Summit League victory over conference leader Oral Roberts, 3-2 (22-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-32, 17-15). The victory moved the Westerwinds (12-12, 9-3 The Summit League) into a five-way tie for first place in the conference standings with the Golden Eagles (14-10, 9-3 The Summit League), IPFW, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.

"We are excited to get our first sweep of Oral Roberts during the regular season in school history," said head coach Kym McKay. "Not only because of the meaning it has for the program, but where is places us in the conference race."

Game five saw Oral Roberts bring its momentum from the game four victory to jump out to an early 7-3 lead. Western responded and went into the side switch down by only two points (6-8) and then started a five-point run to take an 11-8 lead. The Golden Eagles pushed back and tied the game at 11. Despite a short 13-11 lead by the Westerwinds, the game remained tied until ORU committed two-straight hitting errors to hand the match victory to Western.

Game one started out as a battle with tie scores and one point leads until the Westerwinds went up 11-9 for the first two-point lead of the game. The Golden Eagles battled back to tie the game at 15 and then went on a six-point run to earn a four-point advantage. Western pulled within two points, but the lead was too much to overcome and Oral Roberts ended the first game with a 7-1 run to take the win.

The second game started out much like the first before the Golden Eagles started a 7-1 run to go up 12-5. The Westerwinds mounted a comeback going on a 14-3 run to take the lead at 20-17. The teams then traded 3-1 runs before battling for the final 13 points of the game. Western took advantage of the lead it had accumulated and used strong defense to earn the victory.

In game three the Westerwinds started with a 2-0 run before allowing Oral Roberts to tie the game at two. Western then went on a 5-1 run that put it up by four points. The Golden Eagles mounted a three-point run of their own to get within one point, but the Westerwinds battled back to take a five-point advantage. ORU pulled to within one point several times during the rest of the game, but Western always countered by going up two or three points. The Westerwinds ended the game on a three-point.

Game four was a back and forth battle for the lead until Western broke a 7-all tie. The Westerwinds kept the lead until Oral Roberts tied the game at 12. The game went back and forth until Western went up 20-19 and kept its lead until the Golden Eagles tied the game at 27 with a three-point run. ORU had the momentum in its favor and forced the game to extra points before taking the victory.

"There were some times that Oral Roberts was able to gain the momentum, but we kept fighting back," added McKay. "It was great to see that mental composure and see the team do what it needed to in order to earn the victory."

The Westerwinds used strong defense for the second match to earn victory. Western out-blocked the Golden Eagles 15 to nine and was just three digs shy of the total by ORU (107-110). This season the Westerwinds have recorded a total of 32 blocks against Oral Roberts, the two highest match totals during the year. Their 107 digs is also the third-highest total of the 2007 campaign. Sophomore Lindsay Muehlbauer tallied a career-high 23 digs for Western to help lead the defensive charge. Senior Michelle Donnelly also recorded nine total blocks (1-8) in the match and now has 19 against the Golden Eagles during the 2007 season.

The Westerwinds return home for the final three matches of the 2007 season starting with a mid-week match against Chicago State. The Cougars come to Macomb for a Wednesday, October 31 match at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. Western then faces North Dakota State, Friday November 2 at 7 p.m. and South Dakota State, Saturday, November 3 at 6 p.m. in Brophy Hall.

Notes: Western had five players in double-digits in the kills column...sophomore Erin Frick recorded a career-high 14, seniors Ashley Baker and Amy Sauerwein added 13 each, and Donnelly added 11...Houston recorded her third double-double of the year, while Baker and Sauerwein added their 10th and junior Sarah Trimpe contributed her 14th...this was the first time that the Westerwinds swept the Golden Eagles during the regular season...its was also just the second win in Tulsa, Okla., against ORU during the regular season.