MACOMB, Ill. ? Senior Michelle Donnelly tallied nine kills and a season-high .471 (9k-1e-17ta) hitting percentage, but it was not enough to help the Western Illinois volleyball team to victory over Northern Iowa, as it fell 3-0 (13-30, 25-30, 28-30).

“We did a good job of running plays the way we need to tonight,” said head coach Kym McKay. “Michelle was able to capitalize on that. She took a couple of big swings tonight that I'm not used to see her taking and it was great to see her play with a lot of confidence.”

The Westerwinds (7-11, 4-2 The Summit League) struggled in game one against a strong Panther (10-9, 4-3 Missouri Valley) offense. Ashten Stelken tallied six of her 18 kills in the first game of the match and recorded only seven total attempts for a .857 hitting percentage. As a team UNI hit .541 (23k-3e-37ta) in the first game to Western's .150 (9k-e3-40ta).

Game two was better for Western, but the Panthers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never allowed the Westerwinds to get closer than one point the rest of the game.

Western kept improving into game three, keeping the match within five-points throughout. The Westerwinds rallied back from a 13-8 deficit to tie the game at 22. The Panthers then extended their lead back to two points and never let the Westerwinds get any closer than one point the rest of the match.

Senior Amy Sauerwein tallied nine kills in the match, just two shy of her 1,000th kill and membership in the 1,000 Kill/1,000 Dig Club at Western. The Belleville, Ill., native also added 10 digs to her career total.

Western tallied a team hitting percentage of .209 (40k-13e-129ta) in the match, well above its season average of .179. The Westerwinds were also able to keep the Panthers, who average over three blocks a game, to just five blocks for the match while tallying three of their own.

“All of our hitters were doing things that we wanted them to do,” said McKay. “Offensively we hit above our average. It just came down to them using the advantage of their size defensively. For us to come away with an above average offensive night is good against such a big team.”

Western's next opponent will be Oakland, Friday, October 12 at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. The Westerwinds will finish the week with a match against IPFW, Saturday, October 13 at 6 p.m.

Notes: Junior Sarah Trimpe tallied her eighth double-double of the season (34 assists, 12 digs).