Match Notes

MACOMB - After completing its second weekend of Summit League play, the Western Illinois volleyball team steps out of conference at 7 p.m. Monday night to welcome in-state rival Eastern Illinois to Western Hall.

The Fighting Leathernecks (5-6, 2-2 Summit League) enter the match looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Oakland at Brophy Hall Saturday night. The loss snapped a two-match winning streak for the Leathernecks, who are 2-1 on a season-long five-match homestand.

Coverage

Online: Live Stats will be available at GoLeathernecks.com by accessing the live stats link on the volleyball schedule page.

Radio: All home matches during the 2010 season can be heard on WIUS (88.3 FM) radio. Michael Broskowski (play-by-play) and Nick Ficarrotta (color) will call tonight's match. WIUS radio broadcasts are streamed live online here.

TV: Tonight's match is scheduled to air on WIUTV3 via tape delay. The broadcast will be a single-camera production.

Leading the Leathernecks

Junior left side hitter Brooke Stittleburg has emerged as an offensive force for Western over the past week with an average of 4.00 kills per set and a .444 attack percentage. Stittleburg has led the Leathernecks in kills in three consecutive matches, including a season-high 17 in the 3-1 win over IPFW Friday night.

Sophomore middle hitter Katie Hosteng was a major contributor to the Leatherneck attack last week as she averaged 2.7 kills per set and collected nine total blocks. Hosteng, who leads Western with a .264 attack percentage, had 10 kills and eight block assists against IPFW. Fellow middle hitter Cait Egan was also strong defensively last week as she recorded eight total blocks, six digs and six service aces.

Western Illinois has topped the Summit League in kills per set (12.5) and assists per set (11.6) this season thanks to the play of setter freshman Heather Smith. Smith, who averages 9.53 assists per set, posted 41 assists and 21 digs for her first career double-double in the win over IPFW.

Junior left side hitter Allison Gilbert has been Smith's favorite target this season and she leads the Leathernecks with 129 kills on 322 attacks. Gilbert, who had her string of six consecutive double-digit kills performances snapped Saturday night, needs 16 more kills to reach the 500 career kills milestone.

Scouting Eastern Illinois

Eastern Illinois (6-5) enters Monday's match fresh off two wins in four matches at the Pitt Blue & Gold Invitational over the weekend. EIU swept Robert Morris and Saint Francis (Penn.) and lost to No. 9 Washington and Bowling Green.

The Panthers are under the guidance of first-year head coach Kate Price, who won a NCAA National Championship as a player at Penn State in 2007 and spent the 2009 season as an assistant coach at EIU. Eastern, who did not qualify for the Ohio Valley postseason tournament in 2009 after posting an 11-20 record, returns five starters and nine letterwinners from last season.

Senior outside hitter Kelsey Orr, who leads Eastern Illinois with 3.79 kills per set, was named to the Pitt Blue & Gold Invitational all-tournament team over the weekend after four straight double-digit kills performances. Fellow senior middle blocker Jorie Dieter owns a team-high .254 attack percentage and leads the squad with 37 total blocks. Junior setter Chrissie Albers quarterbacks the Panther attack with 10.66 assists per set and junior Brittany Wallace leads the team with 3.29 digs per set.

Although Eastern Illinois owns a 24-14 overall advantage in the series history, Western has won the last two matchups. The last time the two programs met was on Sept. 5, 2008 in Charleston, Ill. at the Eastern Illinois Tournament. Sarah Trimpe had nine kills, 46 assists and 11 digs to lead the Leathernecks to a 3-1 victory. The last matchup in Macomb was on Sept. 9, 2006 when Western recorded a 3-1 victory to capture the Pizza Hut Invitational title.

Match Promotions

Tonight's match is part of a special season-long promotion for Western Illinois students. Students who attend home matches this season will receive a raffle ticket that will enter them in a sweepstakes to win a Blu-Ray Player or iPod Touch. The more raffle tickets collected, the better chance students have of winning the prizes. The prizes will be given away on select dates near the end of the season.