Box Score

Chicago  — The Western Illinois volleyball team opened the DePaul Challenge with a 3-2 win over the host Blue Demons at McGrath Arena.

The Fighting Leathernecks (2-4) dropped the first set 25-15 before taking the next two sets 25-19 and 25-22. DePaul (2-2) won the fourth set 25-19, but Western came back from a 7-1 deficit to win the fifth set 15-13 and seal the team's second win of the season.

“To win in five is good because the last time we had a fifth game, we struggled,” Western Illinois coach Kym McKay said. “To come back is pretty big for us, and hopefully we gain confidence with that.”

After a slow start in the first set, McKay said the Leathernecks dialed up the energy in the second frame to take a convincing win.

“We pretty much gave them the first set. It wasn't until the second set that we turned it on and we played our game,” McKay said.

The third set saw the two teams trade leads before Western recorded four straight blocks midway through the set to take a 20-14 lead. McKay said defense played a big role in the team's victory.

“To play a Big East team and be competitive, and dominate with our block at points was great. Our defense was spectacular tonight,” McKay said. “Elise (Crnjak), Lindsay (Muehlbauer) and Bridget (Murphy) came up huge. They came up with key digs when we needed them.”

Crnjak led Western with a season-high 19 digs while Muehlbauer and Ellen Miller both chipped in 10. The game marked Miller's third straight double-double as the junior also had 37 assists.

Cait Egan, Allison Gilbert and Megan Toczek each had 10 kills to pace the Leathernecks' attack. Western was able to pull out the victory despite DePaul having a 59-49 advantage in kills and hitting for .133 compared to the Blue Deamons' .243 clip.

“Tonight it was about what team was going to be better about taking momentum away.  We really focused on that in sets four and five,” McKay said. “We knew that DePaul had a tough time taking away our momentum and we had an easier time taking their momentum.

“I think the girls stayed very confident knowing if an opportunity presented itself, we could jump on it. They really did that.”

Western continues play in the DePaul Challenge Saturday with a 10 a.m. match against Clemson before taking on Loyola at 5 p.m.