DEKALB, Ill. - Returning to the floor for day two of the 2021 Huskie Invitational, Western Illinois volleyball faced California State University-Bakersfield (CSUB) for a Saturday (Aug. 28) early afternoon contest. The Roadrunners ended up winning in three sets.

"We saw some positive offensive progression throughout the weekend," said WIU head volleyball coach Ben Staupe. "I am looking forward to seeing us hopefully put all phases of the game together. We had a few very slow starts that we fought to come back from, but the tenacity of the fightback was evident."

WIU started in a solid flow by stepping into set one and scoring five of its first six attempts. CSUB found a way to even the score, 8-8, which would be the first of … ties during the period. Traded points continued, and the Roadrunners took a 17-15 lead right out of a media timeout. Immediate kills from Peyton Bowman and Brittany Wulf tied things up again, but CSUB made another quick run to surge ahead 21-17. The opening set would result in the Roadrunners' favor, 25-19.

Bowman succeeded on a few attacks in the second set, upping her kill total. CSUB controlled the ball to steady an offense that put them ahead from the jump. However, WIU refused to quick and erupted on an 8-0 run. Emma Norris contributed heavily during the span, netting four kills in eight Leatherneck possessions. CSUB ended the hot streak with a kill, momentarily, but Western continued to stay close, and a Bowman kill tied the score at 20. Ultimately, a 5-1 finish allowed CSUB to take set two, 25-21.

Following a flurry of kills from the Roadrunners, Bowman struck two consecutive ones of her own, and Wulf smacked a service ace to tie the margin, 6-6. An 8-3 run by CSUB went into a media timeout and a 14-9 advantage. A pair of kills from Kalynn Davis helped the Leathernecks add up more points, and three straight kills from the senior combo of Bowman and Norris led to a CSUB timeout. WIU piled in a few more points down the stretch, but CSUB went on to collect a 25-20 set three victory and finish the day with a sweep.

For her strong play, Kennedy Davis landed a spot on the All-Tournament team. The sophomore racked up a career-high 13 kills and three service aces during the tournament opener versus Northern Illinois.

Western returns to Macomb for a few days before heading east to the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Friday through Saturday (Sept. 3-4).