EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Western Illinois volleyball team captured a come-from-behind victory over Kent State in the morning then swept Wofford at night to conclude action at the SIU-Edwardsville Invitational. With three wins overall on the weekend, the Fighting Leathernecks were crowned the champions of the invitational.
Western Illinois 3, Kent State 2
BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
PRINTABLE BOX SCORE (.pdf)
PRINTABLE PLAY-BY-PLAY (.pdf)
The Fighting Leathernecks stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to capture a 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12) victory over Kent State Saturday morning.
Western's newcomers were a huge part of the comeback. Sophomore setter Sarah Fetter, a transfer from Illinois State, had 45 assists and 14 digs for her first double-double as a Leatherneck. Fetter also had four kills, including two late in the fifth set.
Freshman outside hitter Ann Miller picked up her second consecutive double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs. Freshman right side Samantha Fournier had 11 kills on 19 attempts, including the final three points of the match. Fournier compiled nine kills on 15 swings with no errors over the final three sets and finished the day with only one attack error (team-high .526 attack percentage).
Junior libero Bridget Murphy, who had 28 digs last night against SIUE, set new career-highs with 34 digs and five service aces. Murphy, who collected 19 digs over the first two sets, had two crucial service aces early in the decisive fifth set.
Senior middle hitter Megan Toczek came off the bench to provide a spark to the Fighting Leatherneck offense. Toczek finished with a team-high 15 kills on 30 attempts, including six kills on seven swings in the third set.
Senior middle hitter Cait Egan and freshman Molly Murphy both added two service aces as Western Illinois recorded 12 aces overall. The 12 service aces are the most since Oct. 6, 2007 against Centenary.
Western Illinois 3, Wofford 0
BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
PRINTABLE BOX SCORE (.pdf)
PRINTABLE PLAY-BY-PLAY (.pdf)
The Fighting Leathernecks rode the arms of junior Katie Hosteng, freshman Ann Miller and senior Cait Egan to a sweep (25-19, 26-24, 25-21) over Wofford Saturday night.
Western Illinois (3-1) put down 50 kills and held Wofford (3-1) to just 35 kills in the win. The Leathernecks limited Wofford to just eight kills in the first set and pulled out a close second set win on the shoulders of Hosteng, who had 7 kills on 10 attempts in the frame. Two service aces from freshman Molly Murphy late in the third set allowed Western to pull away and secure the sweep.
Hosteng, who led the squad with 46 kills over the weekend, finished with a match-high 15 kills on 29 attempts for a .448 attack percentage. Hosteng hit .631 over the final two sets (13k-1e-19ta) as sophomore Sarah Fetter's main target.
Fetter was one dig away from her second consecutive double-double but still compiled 38 assists and nine digs. Fetter averaged 10.12 assists per set over the weekend.
Miller, who has started the first four matches of her collegiate career, recorded her third consecutive double-double (12 kills and 11 digs). Miller, who averaged 2.81 kills per set over the weekend, had five kills on 14 attempts in the first set win.
Egan, who passed the 800 career kill mark earlier in the day, had 11 kills on 30 attempts. Egan was busy in the close second set win as she put down five kills on 17 attempts. Egan also collected two of Western's three total blocks and led the squad with 12 total blocks over the weekend.
Junior libero Bridget Murphy was active all weekend and compiled another 19 digs against Wofford. Murphy finished the weekend with 94 digs and a stellar 5.88 digs per set. Senior left side Brooke Stittleburg collected 15 digs for her second double-double dig performance of the weekend.
