OMAHA, NEB. - The Western Illinois women's volleyball team was back in action Friday night (Nov. 14) as they took on the Mavericks of Omaha in league action. Omaha sent its seniors out with a victory in their final match of the season, as they defeated the Leathernecks by a 3-0 decision. Western drops to 5-23 (3-12) on the season, while Omaha concluded the season with an 11-18 (6-10) record.

"Tonight was a lack of focus against a very passionate Omaha team. We started off slow and did not recover until the third set," said head coach April Hall. "Volleyball is a game of momentum and it was not behind us tonight. It is my hope that we can learn from tonight and go into tomorrow a stronger unit. I want nothing more than for these seniors to end with a win and leave Western Illinois with their heads held hight. All four of them have put forth amazing careers and have take this team on back time and time again."

The Mavs stormed out of the gate and quickly took the first set by a 25-9 decision. Omaha used the momentum to open the second set on a 4-0 run. Western would used a 4-0 run to pull back into the match, trailing 9-7. Samantha Fournier opened the run with a kill from Elyse Keating, and Jordan Jackson followed it up with an ace from the service line. After Omaha began to pull away, Western used a mini 3-0 run to get within three points at 21-18, forcing a timeout by the Mavs. The timeout proved to be effective, as Omaha pulled away for a 25-20 victory as the teams headed into the intermission.

The Purple and Gold came out as an inspired bunch in the third set, opening the scoring with a 5-1 run. Kills from Fournier and Ann Miller would start and end the Leatherneck run. The two teams would battle through the middle portions of the set, with Omaha calling a timeout after Western cut the Mavs lead to 19-18. Omaha dug deep and prevailed with a 25-22 victory to take the match.

Mallory Gibson paced the Leatherneck offense with eight kills on the night. Fournier and Keating split the setting duties with the pair collecting 16 and eight assists, respectively. Fournier picked up a double-double on the night as she added a team-best 12 digs, while Molly Murphy had 10 digs of her own.

Western Illinois closes out the season Saturday (Nov. 15) as they head north to take on South Dakota State. First serve is set for 7 p.m.