Stephen F. Austin Box
Southern Illinois-Carbondale Box
DEKALB, Ill. — The Western Illinois volleyball team ended its stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites of Rochelle Invitational Saturday with a pair of four-game losses to Stephen F. Austin and Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
The Fighting Leathernecks (0-4) won the first set in both matches only to watch their counterparts take the final three. Western fell to SFA 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 13-25 early in the day before suffering a 25-18, 25-27, 21-25, 27-29 setback against the Salukis.
The Leathernecks opened strong against the Ladyjacks, recording 18 kills in the first set compared with SFA's 12. The ensuing sets, however, saw the Ladyjacks respond with a stronger blocking presence as SFA finished the match with a 59-45 advantage in kills and a 10-5 edge in blocks.
Agasint SFA, Allison Gilbert led Western in kills for the third-straight match with 15 and recorded a hitting percentage of .375 (15k, 3e, 32ta) while Cait Egan chipped in eight kills. Also for the Leathernecks, Ellen Miller dished up 33 assists, Krissy Bergquist had 13 digs and Bridget Murphy had 12 digs.
While SFA never allowed Western to take over a lead in their winning sets, the Leathernecks held late leads over SIU-C in both the second and fourth sets only to watch the Salukis escape with wins in extra points both times.
"In the Southern game, we were in a position, like we were all weekend, to win a match," said Western Illinois coach Kym McKay. "The one thing we definitely need to focus on and improve is finishing games. We dropped six sets out of the 16 that we played (in the tournament) where we were leading late. We have to be aware of the scoreboard and how it is influincing us. "
Western finished the match against SIU-C with a 71-58 advantage in kills and a 64-59 edge in digs, a rare feat in a losing effort. Four players finished with double-digit kills for the Leathernecks including Egan (17), Megan Toczek (16), Gilbert (13) and Katie Hosteng (12). Miller finsihed with a double-double of 55 assists and 14 digs while Elise Crnjak chipped in 14 digs and Murphy and Bergquist both had 10 digs.
Despite going 0-4 to open the season, McKay said she was encouraged to see improvement from match to match.
"We compare the whole tournament from Friday to Saturday, and we got better every time we were on the floor," McKay said. "I think the underclassmen on the court are continuing to improve and do really good things."
In particular, McKay pointed out the efforts of the sophomore trio of Bergquist, Gilbert and Toczek.
"Krissy had a good weekend. She maybe didn't lead in the number of kills or hitting efficiency, but she got her kills at key times we needed them," McKay said. "Megan and Ally were leading us in kills or hitting percentage every game. Teams were making adjustments to their lineups to defend our left side attack. I think that is a great tribute to two sophomores who are being physcial and taking advantage of their size."
McKay also said she was happy with the setting efforts of Miller, who has never been a full time setter throughout her collegiate career until this sesaon.
"Ellen Miller, the first time running a 5-1 did a fantastic job," McKay said. "She was one of the most dynamic setters there."
Western will be back to Macomb Tuesday, Sept. 1 to host Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the Leathernecks' home opener at Western Hall.
"To be in position to win as many times as we were and to walk away empty handed is frustrating," McKay said. "The girls are frustrated, but they see how good we can be."
