Volleyball Falls to SIUE in Home Finale

MACOMB, Ill. - Despite two double-digit kill outings, a stellar defensive performance from senior Ellen Miller and a double-double by Heather Smith, the Western Illinois volleyball team allowed in-state rival SIU-Edwardsville to rack up 58 kills in a 3-1 (20-25, 21-25, 26-24, 22-25) loss to the Cougars in the 2010 home finale Wednesday night at Western Hall.

SIUE's Julia Whitfield had 24 kills on 48 attempts, and the Cougars (13-14) racked up 75 digs, a Western Illinois opponent season-high for a four-set match. The Fighting Leathernecks (8-21) battled back to capture a hard-fought third set, but the Cougars tallied 16 kills in the fourth set to secure the match victory.

"It is frustrating to lose tonight's match but the score does not indicate how resilient we were," Western Illinois head coach Kym McKay said. "I was very proud of the way we came back to win a very tough third set. We made some changes to the lineup and they worked into the early stages of the fourth set. Ultimately, mental mistakes hurt us in crucial spots and we had a difficult time containing Julia Whitfield."

Juniors Cait Egan and Brooke Stittleburg had 10 kills apiece to lead the Leathernecks. The pair combined for nine kills on 23 attempts in the third set victory. Egan also collected two block assists and moved into a tie for eighth place all-time in program history with 274 career total blocks. Sophomore Katie Hosteng added eight kills, including five on nine attempts in the fourth set.

Junior Alyssa Holum racked up a team-high 19 assists and the first two service aces of her career. Holum shared setting duties with freshman Heather Smith, who collected her second double-double of the season (15 assists and 10 digs). Smith also picked up her team-high 25^th service ace of the season in the fourth set.

Senior Ellen Miller, playing in her final home match, had a season-high 23 digs and picked up the 48^th service ace of her career in the third set. She now owns 1,121 digs over her career, which ranks eighth best in program history. Miller only needs six more digs in the season finale at IUPUI on Saturday to move into seventh place.

"Ellen (Miller) had been locked into that libero position and she has been phenomenal," McKay added. "She is not going out without a fight and she has battled hard for us every point over the last four years. As the lone senior on the squad, she has helped us get better everyday and prepare for the future. She has embraced that role and been very unselfish this season."

In the first set, Western held a 12-9 lead following an Egan kill, but SIUE rallied off four straight points after a timeout to take the lead. The Leathernecks would tie it back up a 14-14, but the Cougars went on another 4-0 run to go up 18-14 and never relinquished the lead in a 25-20 first set victory. Middle hitters Egan and junior Megan Toczek combined for seven kills on 14 attempts in the set, but SIUE hit .237 to go up 1-0.

Western fell behind early in the second set, but trimmed the SIUE lead to just one at 14-13 following a Cougar attack error. SIUE responded with two Whitfield kills, two blocks and a service ace to take a commanding 19-13 lead. Western caused a SIUE timeout when the lead fell to just three at 22-19, but the Cougars finished out the set with a 25-21 win to go up 2-0.

Western came out strong following the break and led 15-11 in the third set after another Egan kill. SIUE countered with a 5-0 run to take a 16-15 lead, but the Leathernecks fought back behind the play of Stittleburg and Krissy Bergquist and eventually served for set point at 24-20. SIUE ran off four straight points to tie the set at 24-24, but a combined block by Egan and Smith and Cougar attack error gave Western a 26-24 third set victory. Bergquist had four kills on nine attempts in the set and Western outhit SIUE .205-.167.

Western used momentum from the third set win to run out to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but a 5-0 run by SIUE put the Leathernecks down 8-6. SIUE led by as many as 22-15, but a 5-0 Western Illinois run highlighted by two Hosteng kills and a Toczek solo block cut the lead to 22-20. Two straight SIUE errors put Western down just one at 23-22, but a Leatherneck service error and Karle Downing kill ended the match.

Western Illinois is back in action Saturday when the Fighting Leathernecks play their season finale at IUPUI. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

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