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MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball team had 24 kills in a thrilling 33-31 first set win, but was held to 30 kills the rest of the way in a closely-contested 3-1 (33-31, 23-25, 22-25, 16-25) loss to Oral Roberts Friday night at Brophy Hall.

Western Illinois (6-17, 2-12 Summit League) hit .293 in a first set victory that included 14 ties and six lead changes. However, the Fighting Leathernecks were held to a .08 attack percentage over the remaining three sets and Oral Roberts (9-12, 7-6 Summit League) had three players in double-digits offensively.

The Golden Eagles, who lead the conference in kills per set (14.26) and attack percentage (.235), hit .213 overall and had four players post a .300+ attack percentage.

"We did a lot of very good things as a team tonight," Western Illinois head coach Kym McKay said. "Unfortunately, we did not handle our side or execute when Oral Roberts put the pressure on late in the match. But I was very pleased with the way we embraced some new offensive strategies."

Junior Allison Gilbert and sophomore Katie Hosteng paced the Leatherneck attack with 12 kills apiece. Gilbert, who has been in double-digits a team-high 17 times this season, tied a career-high with five block assists. Hosteng, who posted four block assists of her own, was in double-digits for the first time since Sept. 20 against Eastern Illinois.

"Allison (Gilbert) and Katie (Hosteng) were huge for us tonight," McKay added. "They were both very active and found different ways to score. We were very pleased to see them play aggressively and take a leadership role on the court."

Junior Megan Toczek tied a season-high with nine kills to go along with five block assists and six digs. Fellow junior Cait Egan had three total blocks (one solo, two assists) to tie Maureen Quinnett (1982-84) for ninth place all-time in program history (264 total blocks). Overall, the Fighting Leathernecks had 10 total blocks for their first double-digit performance since Sept. 30 at Southern Utah.

Alyssa Holum (career-high 19 assists), Heather Smith (18 assists) and Ellen Miller (10 assists) all saw time at setter as the Leathernecks collected 54 kills on 49 assists. Holum also chipped in six digs and Miller (team-high 14 digs) picked up her seventh double-double of the season.

Hosteng posted seven kills on nine attempts and four other Leathernecks had at least four kills in Western's 33-31 first set victory. Tied at 31-31 after a Western Illinois attack error, the Leathernecks received back-to-back kills from Gilbert and Hosteng to go up 1-0. Western had four total blocks and rallied to tie the second set at 18-18 following a Brooke Stittleburg service ace, but nine Leatherneck attack errors helped Oral Roberts capture a 25-23 victory in the second set.

Oral Roberts ran out to a 15-8 advantage in the third set, but Western fought back to tie the score at 18-18 after a Cait Egan kill. The Golden Eagles eventually closed out the 25-22 third set victory with five kills and a service ace. Western Illinois and Oral Roberts both recorded 10 kills in the final stanza, but the Golden Eagles outhit the Leathernecks .273-.037 to pull away from a 10-10 tie for a 25-16 victory.

Western Illinois is back in action Saturday night as the Fighting Leathernecks host conference foe Centenary, who was swept at IUPUI Friday night. The Fighting Leathernecks will honor their lone senior, Ellen Miller, with a ceremony prior to the 7 p.m. match.