KANSAS CITY - Western Illinois volleyball (4-24, 3-14) made its final road visit of the 2021 regular season on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13), meeting up with the Kansas City Roos (19-9, 10-6). WIU impressively took the first period but were ultimately defeated in four (25-22, 16-25, 16-25, 20-25)
Opening the match, Brittany Wulf started successfully with her attacks, striking five kills in the first set. Possessions were traded for most of the period, and Kansas City scored on three of four tries late, but Kennedy Davis flew in for a right-side hammer to end the set in Western's favor, 25-22.
After committing two early service errors, the Roos picked up their play to begin a back-and-forth series with WIU during the second frame. Eventually, Kansas City went on a 5-1 run, which led to a 25-16 set win.
Western started hot in the third, 6-1, thanks to a few slams from Peyton Bowman. The Roos responded with immediate punches, taking an 11-10 lead on a flurry of kills. Kansas City maintained control by using its efficient hitting and front-line defense to up its margin to 16-11, resulting in a Leatherneck timeout. Bowman and Wulf gave WIU some points, but the host team defended the net quite well (five blocks) en route to another 25-16 victory in set three.
The fourth set began more tightly played, with Kansas City leading 7-4 before adding in a 4-0 burst. Western subsequently called for a timeout but struggled to grab possessions, as the Roos extended their advantage to 17-6. Emma Norris delivered a pair of kills to try and make something happen late for WIU, starting a 6-0 push with Kansas City at match point, but the Leathernecks fell in a final 25-20 count.
Bowman finished as WIU's top player in kills (13), hitting percentage (.318), and blocks (5). Wulf added 12 kills, and Kennedy Davis ended with six kills and three blocks. First-years Maggie Craker and Karli Wenzel totaled 33 assists and 16 digs, respectively. Aubrey Putman was the only other player to reach double-digit numbers in digs (10).
WIU held an advantage in service aces over Kansas City (4-2), each coming from a different Leatherneck.
Next Saturday (Nov. 20) will see the regular-season finale for WIU -- 'Senior Day' at 1 p.m. in Western Hall. Peyton Bowman and Erika Moore will be honored before the match.
