The Fighting Leathernecks (11-14, 3-11 Summit League) dominated the fourth set with five aces and 11 kills to extend the match to a decisive fifth set. In the final frame, South Dakota (13-13, 6-7 Summit League) recorded 12 kills to Western's eight and led the whole way to secure the match victory.

Western Illinois set a season-high with 200 total attempts but was held to a .075 attack percentage by South Dakota. South Dakota held advantages in kills (65-47), digs (105-91) and total blocks (15-10). The Fighting Leathernecks' 91 digs marks the most of any five-set match so far this season.

Junior Katie Hosteng led the Leatherneck offense with 12 kills on 45 attempts. She had four kills on nine attempts in the second set victory. It is her sixth double-digit kill performance of conference play as she leads the squad with 2.74 kills per set in Summit League action.

Junior Bridget Murphy compiled 34 digs for her third 30-plus dig performance of the season. Murphy currently ranks first in The Summit League and fifth in the nation with 6.01 digs per set. The only other Fighting Leatherneck to average over 6.00 digs per set in a single-season is Jennifer Alexander in 2004.

Sophomore Sarah Fetter collected her seventh double-double of the season with 38 assists and 18 digs. It is the first Leatherneck double-double in two weeks (Ann Miller vs. South Dakota State, Oct. 14). She also collected three more blocks and has 10 total blocks over the last 15 sets played.

Sophomore Heather Smith came off the bench to set career highs with 10 kills, 43 attempts and three blocks. Over the last three matches, Smith is averaging 2.54 kills per set after averaging less than one kill per set over the first 22 contests of the season.

Senior Cait Egan put down nine kills on 29 attempts and collected four more total blocks. Egan (1,035 career kills) needs just four more kills to move past Western Illinois Hall of Famer Diane Ellefritz (1987-91) into eighth place on the program's all-time list. Egan also owns 343 career total blocks, which ranks fourth best in program history.

Freshman Molly Murphy collected four service aces to raise her conference-leading total to 39 aces. She had three aces during a 7-0 run in the fourth set that helped the Fighting Leathernecks pull away from the Coyotes for an easy set victory.

Western Illinois closes out the 2011 home schedule Saturday (Oct. 29) with a 7 p.m. contest against UMKC inside Brophy Hall. The Kangaroos picked up their third straight Summit League victory on Friday night with a five-set road win at IUPUI.

Western Illinois will also recognize the contributions of the 2011 Senior Class prior to the match. The 2011 Senior Class consists of setter Alyssa Holum, middle hitter Megan Toczek, left side hitter Brooke Stittleburg and middle hitter Cait Egan.