MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois volleyball captured a five-set thriller over the Fort Wayne Mastodons on Friday evening (Nov. 1) inside Western Hall. The match featured 37 tie scores and 19 lead changes as the Leathernecks pulled away in the final set to claim the victory. 

“I think it was heart. We talk a lot about game plan. We talk a lot about consistency. And they did all that tonight, but on top of that they had heart and passion and they wanted to win,” head coach April Hall said. “We talk about one heartbeat all the time and tonight was the epitome of one heartbeat. You can't have another team have set point and come back and win that set without heart. I can talk stats and I can talk logistics but at the end of the day it was heart and passion that won this match for us."

The opening set was all Fort Wayne, as the Mastodons won, 25-17, to take the early 1-0 match lead. Emily Spencer led Fort Wayne with five kills in the opening set, while Jordan Jackson recorded three kills for the Leathernecks.

Set two featured 16 tie scores and 11 lead changes with the Leathernecks eventually coming out on top, 29-27. The back-and-forth set saw the Mastodons out on top 24-21 late in the set, but the Leathernecks would fight back to tie things up at 24-24. Western closed out the set with a pair of kills from Jackson and Ann Miller to tie the match at 1-1.

The Leathernecks never trailed in set three, winning 25-22 to take the 2-1 match lead. Mallory Gibson posted four kills to lead Western in the set, while Sarah Fetter assisted on nine kills.

The fourth set went to Fort Wayne as the Mastodons held off a late Leatherneck attack to earn the victory, 25-23. Spencer notched an impressive eight kills in the set to lead the Mastodons.

Set five saw seven tie scores but just one lead change as the Leathernecks came out on top, 15-12. The set was all knotted up at 7-7 when Gibson posted a kill that gave Western a lead they would not relinquish. The Leathernecks closed out the set with a kill from freshman Sarah Sikula to capture the 3-2 match victory. 

Gibson finished the match with a career-high 18 kills and a career-best .361 hitting percentage for the Leathernecks.

Setter Sarah Fetter assisted on 45 kills for the Purple & Gold, while also recording a team-best 18 digs. Molly Murphy (15), Ann Miller (14) and Heather Smith (11) all finished with double-digit digs for the Leathernecks.

As a team, Western finished with a season-high 13 blocks. Melanie Miller finished with five blocks for the Leathernecks, while Jackson notched four.

Spencer led all attackers with 21 total kills for the Mastodons in the match. 

The win is the first for Western over Fort Wayne since 2010. The Leathernecks are now 5-0 at home, the first time since 2006 that the program has started off the season with five straight wins in Macomb. 

The Leathernecks improve to 11-13 overall and 5-4 in conference play, while the Mastodons fall to 13-13 overall and 5-5 in Summit League play.

Western will continue its home stand with a Sunday (Nov. 3) match against the IUPUI Jaguars. First serve is set for 2 p.m. inside Western Hall.