CHICAGO - Sophomore Heather Smith put down a career-high 11 kills to lead the Western Illinois volleyball team to a 3-0 victory (26-24, 25-19, 25-23) over in-state rival Chicago State Tuesday night (Nov. 1) at the Dickens Center. The sweep is the Fighting Leathernecks' 14th consecutive win over the Cougars.

While Western Illinois (12-15) held comfortable leads in all three sets, the match was statistically even throughout. Team kills were even at 41 while the Cougars (1-25) held advantages in service aces (6-5) and blocks (6-3). However, Western held Chicago State to a .185 attack percentage while hitting at a .245 clip, which is the fifth highest team performance this season.  

Smith boosted the Fighting Leathernecks offensive efficiency by committing just one attack error on a team-high 28 attempts (.357 attack percentage). She had five kills on nine attempts and no errors in the final set to help Western secure the victory. Over the last five matches, Smith is averaging 2.35 kills per set after averaging less than one kill per set over the first 22 contests of the season.  

Freshman Ann Miller hit at a .333 clip with eight kills on 18 attempts and two errors. Miller also compiled 10 digs for her 20th double-digit performance of the season.

Senior Brooke Stittleburg put down nine kills and freshman Mallory Gibson chipped in five on eight attempts, including the final two kills of the match. Senior Cait Egan collected three block assists to move into a tie with Laura Olsen (1988-92) for sixth all-time in program history with 258 career block assists.

Sophomore Sarah Fetter dished out 35 assists to go along with six digs, three kills and two service aces. Junior Bridget Murphy compiled a match-high 19 digs at the libero position while freshman Molly Murphy picked up her team-leading 41st ace of the season in the second set.

Western Illinois is back in Summit League action Saturday (Nov. 5) when the Fighting Leathernecks play at IUPUI. First serve from Indianapolis, Ind. is set for 6 p.m. CT inside The Jungle. The Jaguars (13-14 overall, 7-8 Summit League) are in a battle with Oakland for the final postseason spot.