The Fighting Leathernecks (5-6, 2-2 Summit League), who entered the match riding a two-game winning streak, were held to a .069 attack percentage by the Golden Grizzlies (7-7, 2-1 Summit League). 

"We did not handle our side of the net well tonight," Western Illinois head coach Kym McKay said. "We had a lot of unforced errors and Oakland was more consistent in their play. We know we can perform much better and we look forward to hosting Eastern Illinois on Monday."

In the first set, Western Illinois sophomore middle hitter Katie Hosteng put down four kills but Oakland hit .323 on the way to a 25-18 victory. Down 11-6 at one point in the second set, the Leathernecks rallied to tie the score at 21-21 behind strong play from Allison Gilbert (five kills) and Cait Egan (four kills). The Golden Grizzlies responded by scoring three consecutive points and eventually captured a 25-23 victory. Western grabbed an early 5-3 lead in the final stanza, but Oakland came back to tie the score at 10-10 and pulled away to a 25-17 victory behind the strong serving of Allison Bell and Meghan Bray.

Junior Brooke Stittleburg had nine kills to lead the Leathernecks in kills for the third consecutive match. Stittleburg has averaged 4.0 kills per set and posted a .444 attack percentage over the last three matches. Hosteng recorded eight kills and Gilbert added seven kills to raise her team-leading season total to 129 kills.

Defensively, senior Ellen Miller had team-high 12 digs and Stittleburg chipped in 10 digs for the second consecutive match. Egan had one solo block and three block assists to raise her team-leading season total to 44 total blocks. The junior middle hitter also recorded three service aces and now owns a team-high 11 aces this season.

Western Illinois takes a break from conference play Monday night (Sept. 20) when the Leathernecks host in-state rival Eastern Illinois at Western Hall. The match, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, can be heard live on the radio at WIUS (88.3 FM).