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Western Illinois University Athletics

Volleyball Group
0
Fairleigh Dickinson FDU 0-2
3
Winner Western Illinois WIU 1-0
Fairleigh Dickinson FDU
0-2
0
Final
3
Western Illinois WIU
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Fairleigh Dickinson FDU 12 14 15 (0)
Western Illinois WIU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Pummel Knights In Season-Opener

The Leathernecks won in straight sets for the first time since Sept. 9, 2017

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois volleyball team rolled past Fairleigh Dickinson in its first match of the season, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-15). In his first match at the helm of Leatherneck volleyball, head coach Ben Staupe led the Purple and Gold to its first straight-set win since Sept. 9, 2017 against Eastern Illinois.

"Our kids rose to the challenge. They stepped up and came in and protected their house. They took the momentum early and just rolled with it. The team did a great job to a team that looked great earlier in the day," said Staupe. "We executed our game plan very well. It's just nice as a coach to see when the student-athletes go out and execute the game plan."

The Leathernecks jumped out to a quick lead in the first set and never looked back. After expanding the lead to 12-8, Melanie Patenaude served 10-straight points for Western Illinois that included two aces. Once the Leatherneck lead swelled to 23-9, Fairleigh Dickinson won three-straight points to end the Leatherneck run. After a kill from Shiah Sanders and an attacking error on the Knights, WIU took the first set, 25-12.

Western Illinois picked up right where it left off in the second set by souring out to an 8-1 lead. The Knights were able to compress the Leatherneck lead to 10-5, but the Purple and Gold won six-straight points to force a FDU timeout. Up 21-10, Patenaude and Riley Schumacher recorded back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 13 points. 

The Purple and Gold took a commanding lead in the third and final set by running out to a 15-2 lead. The home squad was about to extend the lead to 18-3 before the Knights rallied to bring the score to within nine points. An attack error ended the match as the Leathernecks notched their first win of the season.

Patenaude and Sander each ended with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Jaime Johnson logged 28 assists. 

The Leathernecks are back on the court tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. against Tennessee Tech and Evansville. 
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