DEKALB, Ill. - The 2021 season officially began for Western Illinois volleyball on Friday (Aug. 27) north of campus. Day one of Northern Illinois' hosted Husky Invitational took place, with WIU competing in two matches.

A hard-fought four-set season opener against the host happened for Western within the late morning, followed by an early evening faceoff versus William & Mary. The latter featured a breathtaking first set of seesaw action that carried well into extra points.
 

Match One

NIU 3, WIU 1

The Leathernecks' first season match started quickly, with the two in-state foes staying even through the first set. Kills by Kennedy Davis and Peyton Bowman tied the score at 12, as the former delivered a second service ace to have WIU trailing 15-14. Fresh out of a media timeout, Northern Illinois tallied three straight scores before Western regrouped on its sideline. Down 20-14, Brittany Wulf helped give her 'Necks momentum with two consecutive kills right before fellow first-year Maggie Craker sent in a service ace. It became a short series of traded points, with Davis, Bowman, and Erika Moore making contributions. Ultimately, NIU took a 25-22 win off a service error.

Davis opened up the second period strongly with back-to-back kills to put her team out in front. Two consecutive blocks by Hailey Pollock and Bowman had their squad up 7-3. NIU settled into its game to rack in a 5-1 run and tie the score at eight. However, Bowman had an answer with a spike of her own, and four combined kills between Davis and Emma Norris stretched WIU's lead to 16-11. More back-and-forth play created a tightly-played set, and NIU eventually took the lead, 21-20. Davis and Bowman helped put Western narrowly ahead again, 23-22, and two final errors by the Huskies led to the Leathernecks taking set two.

In the third set, NIU scored nine of its first 11 possessions -- holding a 9-3 lead. A few errors by the host, including strong attacks from Norris and Putman, put WIU behind 13-9. Bowman stepped up to deliver on several occurrences, and WIU found itself cutting into the lead bit by bit, 18-16. A few of her teammates helped make a comeback, but the Huskies saw success in their final minutes of play to secure a 25-20 victory.

NIU jumped out early in the fourth with a 9-2 advantage. As a response, Western netted five kills from five different players, and the score sat at 11-7. A 6-3 run had NIU leading 19-10, leading to a Leatherneck timeout. Taking advantage of a couple of NIU errors and three kills by Wulf, WIU was able to tack a few more points on the board before the Huskies completed the match on a 25-14 set four win.

Davis reached a new career-high in kills (13) and service aces (3) to kick off her sophomore campaign. Bowman added nine of her own, and Putman had seven. Jessie Connell dished out 23 assists. She, Putman, and Moore additionally put up eight digs apiece. Bowman and Pollock anchored four and three assisted blocks, respectively. 

WIU had a 12-10 advantage in blocks and tied with NIU in service aces (7).
 

Match Two

W&M 3, WIU 0

Western's second match of Friday opened in intense dramatic fashion, with a first set that went into extra points. The heady play saw 19 tied scores and four lead changes between the Tribe and Leathernecks. Bowman and Putman led the pace up until a W&M service ace and kill put the lengthy period away at 32-30.

William & Mary scored on its first five tries of the second set, but serving and attacking errors led to Western finding itself quickly back in it. Similar to the first, the lead margin stayed relatively close, as Putman and Wulf caught fire on the attacking end. Nonetheless, the Tribe needed just enough space to pull away, 25-22.

Putman and Wulf continued their aggressive attacks into the third -- tying up the game 10-10, following a 5-0 spurt. A 6-2 run by W&M was followed up with another seize of momentum, landing at match point, 24-14. However, led by Bowman, Western steadied its fight to plug in five straight points. The Tribe went on to end the evening on a final, delivered kill.

Putman finished with 11 kills, tying for a match-high, and seven digs. Bowman added eight kills and assisted on three blocks. Connell and Craker piled in 17 and 15 assists, respectively, while Moore led all players with 12 digs.

Day two of the Husky Invitational takes place tomorrow (Aug. 28), as Western faces CSU Bakersfield at noon.