SAINT LOUIS - Western Illinois volleyball got on the road Thursday afternoon (Aug. 19) for its lone exhibition contest of the fall. A visit to the Saint Louis Billikens took place, which went four sets. Experimenting with different looks, Western's young core stood out as a bright spot.

"It was great to get on the floor and compete today," said WIU head volleyball coach Ben Staupe. "We wanted to test a few things and saw some positives. We look forward to building on this as we open up the regular season next week."

After dropping the first set by narrow digits, the Leathernecks stayed competitive to win the second. A handful of errors by Saint Louis led to a late, comfortable lead for WIU, finished by a Kaitlyn Morgan kill. Kennedy Davis netted three kills during that period, with four teammates also contributing two each.

Davis led the offense with 12 kills -- the only WIU player to reach double-figures. In her first taste of collegiate competition, Maggie Craker finished with 13 assists while Jessie Connell had a team-high 17. Aubrey Putman and Brittany Wulf added six kills apiece, with the latter notching seven digs and two service aces. Over on the defensive end, Peyton Bowman led both squads in blocks; tallying six. Erika Moore completed ten digs.

Western's freshmen and sophomores combined for 35 kills, 37 assists, and 42 digs.

The first of four tournaments begins for WIU next Friday (Aug. 27), traveling to Northern Illinois' invitational for two days of competition.