MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois volleyball team was always a few points short Saturday night (Sept. 24) as the Fighting Leathernecks dropped a 3-0 decision (24-26, 23-25, 21-25) to Oral Roberts at Brophy Hall.
Western Illinois (8-7, 1-4 Summit League) managed to tie Oral Roberts (11-4, 4-1 Summit League) late in the first two sets but could not pull through in either game. The first two sets featured 15 combined ties and five lead changes. The Golden Eagles held advantages over the Fighting Leathernecks in kills (51-39), digs (75-63) and service aces (5-2).
"It is frustrating because we are in every game down the stretch," said head coach Kym McKay following the match. "We did not play our best volleyball the last two or three points of every set tonight. It is a mental thing. Our girls can work hard but when it comes to game time we need to work for every point."
Junior Katie Hosteng led Western Illinois offensively with 11 kills on 31 attempts (.323 attack percentage). Hosteng put down 26 kills on 63 attempts over the weekend for a stellar .317 attack percentage.
Senior Cait Egan had nine kills on 31 attempts to boost her career total to 934 kills. Egan also had two total blocks and owns a team-high 35 total blocks on the season.
Junior Bridget Murphy compiled a match-high 26 digs for the second straight night. It is her fourth consecutive 20+ dig performance and seventh overall this season. Murphy ranks 18th in the nation and first in the Summit-League with 5.65 digs per set.
Freshman Ann Miller collected eight kills and 11 digs while Mallory Gibson tied a season-high with six kills on 13 attempts (.385 attack percentage). Gibson also collected two total blocks and ranks second on the squad with 22 total blocks in just 21 sets played this season.
Sophomore Sarah Fetter tied a season-high with three total blocks to go along with 29 assists, five digs and three kills. Freshman Molly Murphy picked up eight digs and two more service aces to push her conference-leading total to 25 aces.
Western Illinois continues Summit League action on the road next weekend as the Fighting Leathernecks take on UMKC Friday (Sept. 30) and South Dakota Sunday (Oct. 2). UMKC is 6-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play while South Dakota, who joined the league after three years in the Great West conference, is 7-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
