TULSA, Okla. - Starting its last road stretch of the regular season, Western Illinois (4-23, 3-13) fell to Oral Roberts (16-8, 10-5) in three sets (14-25, 26-28, 17-25) on Thursday evening (Nov. 11). The Golden Eagles held an advantage in kills per set that more than doubled Western's.
After falling 25-14 in the first period, WIU became hungrier in the second -- tallying several ties. Down 18-13, a Kalynn Davis kill initiated a run that saw the team standing close by, 18-16. A handful of errors between the two foes surfaced. Western eventually evened things at 24-24 before an assisted block between Peyton Bowman and Emma Norris put the Leathernecks at set point. However, it was ORU who would end the period victoriously after posting a final 4-1 push.
Starting set three ahead 6-1, ORU traded possessions with Western for a large stretch but eventually closed out the night with a 6-2 spree.
Norris finished as the team leader in kills (six), while Kalynn Davis, Aubrey Putman, and Brittany Wulf chipped in five of her own. Norris and Bowman also assisted on four blocks. Maggie Craker collected a double-double of 25 assists and 16 digs -- both team-highs. Karli Wenzel totaled 15 digs.Â
WIU has one more pit stop before the week closes out -- visiting Kansas City on Saturday (Nov. 13) at 1 p.m. CT.
