BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Western Illinois volleyball team concluded nonconference play Saturday afternoon at the 2014 Hoosier Classic. The Leathernecks (2-11) dropped a 3-0 decision to tournament host Indiana and lost 3-1 to Buffalo.

"It's easy to look back at our nonconference schedule and say, 'We could have won that one. We should have won that one.' We are not the team to do that," said Leatherneck head coach April Hall. "We are the team that will learn and grow. We are the team who will not be satisfied with our mediocre performances and will push harder to exude greatness every day in practices so that come game time, we are ready. We are the team who will stop saying, 'We could have been this,' and will in turn say, 'we will be this.' Our adversity has made us stronger and come Friday, we will being again and fight to earn a top spot in The Summit League."

The Leathernecks began the afternoon squaring off against Indiana, and were poised to pull off a first set victory. A Kayla Ruff ace capped a 3-0 run by the Purple and Gold to give the team a 16-13 lead midway through the opening set. Western Illinois would hang with the Hoosiers for the rest of the set, and outhit Indiana, .214 to .179. Peyton Crosser recorded one of her six kills to pull Western Illinois within one point at 20-19, but Indiana would pull away to take the first set by a 25-22 final.

Despite improving on their hitting percentage in the second set by hitting at a .233 clip, the Leathernecks were never able to pry the lead from the Hoosiers. Ann Miller recorded one of her team-leading 10 kills to pull Western within three points at 16-13, but Indiana would extend their lead and head into the intermission up 2-0. The final set belonged to Indiana, as they had an impressive .545 hitting percentage, while the Leathernecks struggled, hitting -0.42 as a team. Western Illinois kept it close early in the set before Indiana secured the match with a 25-13 victory.

Ann Miller's 10 kills on 26 attacks each paced the Purple and Gold offensively. Samantha Fournier added 19 assists and four kills of her own, while Molly Murphy recorded 10 digs.

The nightcap featured Buffalo, a team the Leathernecks faced last weekend at the UIC Invitational. An early run from the Leathernecks pushed them to a first set victory over the Bulls. Trailing 5-3, Western Illinois used a 7-0 run to take a lead, a lead they would not let go of the rest of the way. Peyton Crosser got the run started with a kill from the outside. Ann Miller tied the match at 6-all with an ace from the service line and a Bulls hitting error gave Western a 7-6 advantage. Miller would add her second ace of the run to extend the lead to 8-6 forcing a Buffalo timeout. A Buffalo hitting error and a Melanie Miller kill pushed the lead to 10-6. The lead would remain at four until the Purple and Gold used a 3-0 run to extend the lead to seven. Ann Miller recorded a kill, and then an ace, before Peyton Crosser ended the run with a kill. From there, the Leathernecks would finish strong, taking the first set by a 25-22 score. 

Buffalo bounced back with a second set victory, 25-17, and the teams headed to the break tied 1-1. Coming out of the intermission, the two teams had a hard-fought third set in which there were nine ties and four lead changes. Fournier collected a kill and Jordan Jackson followed it up with an ace to give the Leathernecks a 7-5 advantage. Melanie Miller added a kill shortly after to make it 8-7 in favor of the Purple and Gold. From there, Buffalo would take the lead, but Western Illinois would keep it close. Ultimately, Buffalo was able to grab the third set, 25-21, and take a 2-1 lead into the final set. The Bulls lead from the get go and claimed the match with a 25-16 victory.

The Leathernecks return home and open conference action next weekend. Western Illinois first hosts Denver on Friday, Sept. 26, and concludes the weekend with a match against Omaha on Sunday, Sept. 28. Matches are slated to begin at 7 pm and 2 pm, respectively, and will take place inside Western Hall.