MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball team was held to a season-low 25 kills by North Dakota State in a 3-0 loss (12-25, 17-25, 12-25) Saturday night (Oct. 15) inside Brophy Hall. The defeat drops the Fighting Leathernecks' record to 10-11 and 3-8 in Summit League play.

Megan Lambertson put down a match-high 13 kills and Carissa Whalen added 12 for NDSU (16-7, 9-2 Summit League), who recorded 44 kills and a .309 attack percentage. The Bison also collected 10 total blocks and three service aces.

After a quick first set, Western Illinois led 9-8 in the second set before NDSU went on a 5-0 run. The Fighting Leathernecks got within one point at 18-17 following Brooke Stittleburg's fourth kill of the night. The Bison closed out the set with a 7-0 run and put down 20 kills in the third set to secure the victory.

Senior Cait Egan led the Leatherneck offensive attack with eight kills on 22 attempts. Egan needs six more kills to become the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She looks to reach the prestigious milestone in front of the home fans Tuesday night when Western Illinois plays host to in-state rival DePaul inside Western Hall.

Stittleburg came off the bench to record five kills on 17 attempts. Meanwhile, freshman Samantha Fournier compiled a season-high 14 digs to go along with three kills.

Sophomore Sarah Fetter collected 18 assists, five digs and three kills on six attempts. Junior Bridget Murphy compiled 12 digs to go over 1,100 digs for her career (1,104).

The Fighting Leathernecks quickly step out of conference play Tuesday night (Oct. 18) to play host to DePaul. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Western Hall with the Blue Demons, who fell to Notre Dame in four sets at home Friday night. DePaul is 4-16 overall and 1-6 in Big East play this season.