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Western Illinois University Athletics

WIU Volleyball
Brad Laux
3
Winner Western Ill. WIU 3-9,2-1 OVC
2
Morehead St. More 7-8,0-3 OVC
Winner
Western Ill. WIU
3-9,2-1 OVC
3
Final
2
Morehead St. More
7-8,0-3 OVC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Western Ill. WIU 16 25 25 20 17 (3)
Morehead St. More 25 17 23 25 15 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Take Down Eagles in Five Sets

WIU moves to 2-1 in OVC play

MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois volleyball defeated the Morehead State Eagles inside Johnson Arena on Friday (Sept. 29) night. The Leathernecks fell behind early but battled back for a five-set victory. WIU moves to 3-9 on the season and 2-1 in OVC play.

SET 1
Western Illinois came out on the front foot to start Friday's match. Two quick kills by Elizabeth Ziegler and Keyana Cruse gave WIU an early 2-0 lead. Both teams would keep it close through the first ten points, trading leads. Tied 10-10, Morehead State used a 9-2 run, pulling in front 19-12. Brittany Wulf's kill would end the run and spark a Leathernecks run. An MSU attack error and a Julianna Schmidt kill would follow Wulf's, bringing WIU with four 19-15. Morehead State would regroup, ending the set on a 6-1 run to take set one 25-16.

SET 2
Down early in set two, Kennedy Adair would call her number. Three straight kills by the Macomb native gave WIU a 4-2 lead. After a kill by MSU brought the lead down to one, Adair would strike again for her fourth kill, extending the lead back to two. Western Illinois will hold their two-point lead throughout the early stages of set two. Ahead 9-7, Ziegler would go back-to-back with kills, putting WIU up four. Cruse followed with a service ace, forcing Morehead State to call a timeout. Two attack errors by MSU would set up Cruse for another ace out of the break. Ziegler would push the run to a 7-0 run with another kill, forcing MSU to use their second timeout. After the second break, Grace Kremer joined the action with a kill, giving WIU an 8-0 run and a 17-7 lead. Morehead State cut into WIU's lead at 22-16, but that was the closest they would get as WIU closed out set two 25-17.

SET 3
Set three started neck and neck as both teams traded points up to eight. Cruse would get a kill with the score tied at eight, putting WIU in front. Adair followed the Cruse kill with a kill and a block on back-to-back plays, putting WIU in front 11-8. The Leathernecks and Eagles traded service errors on the next two serves before another Adair kill, and Grace Kremer's ace put WIU front 14-9, forcing a Morehead State timeout. MSU chipped back into the set out of the timeout with a 4-0 run, causing WIU to spend their first timeout. The Eagles kept chipping away as they would get the set tied at 20. The Leathernecks would feed their hot hand in Cruse to break the tie and pull back in front. WIU would keep the momentum on a 4-0 run, holding a 24-20 advantage. MSU put some pressure on the Leathernecks, but an attack error gave WIU a 2-1 advantage after winning set three 25-23.

SET 4
The fourth set saw four ties right out of the gate. Tied at six, the Eagles used a 5-1 run to pull in front 11-7. Ziegler ended the run with back-to-back kills, cutting the deficit to two. MSU had a response pulling back in front by five 15-10 heading into the media timeout. Ziegler would be in attack mode out of the stoppage of play as she would find another kill, sparking a Leatherneck 8-2 run to pull in front 18-17. WIU would see the lead one more time in set four as a 7-1 Eagles would end the set at 25-20.

Set 5
Morehead State pulled in front early in the decisive fifth set. Down 6-4, WIU would use kills by Kremer and Kaitlyn Wickersham to pull the set even at six. MSU responded after their timeout as they would increase their lead back to three (10-7) on a 4-1 run, forcing a Western Illinois timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams traded points. Down 13-10 late in set five, Adair found the hardwood for a kill, bringing the Leathernecks within two. WIU tied the match up after an MSU attack error and then a block by Cruse and Schmidt, forcing the final Morehead State timeout. Juliana Schmidt gave WIU their first lead of the last set with a kill. After MSU tied the match at 14 and 15, Cruse would finish the match off with back-to-back kills, giving WIU the 17-15 victory.

Keyana Cruse and Elizabeth Ziegler led the offensive charge on Friday night. Cruse ended with 18 kills and 22 digs for her seventh double-double. Ziegler would have 15 kills, hitting the double-digit mark for the second time this season. Maggie Craker would have herself another double-double with 48 assists and 14 digs. Karli Wenzel would have 21 digs. Julianna Schmidt would team up for seven blocks and one solo. As a team, WIU had five service aces and 13 total blocks.

Western Illinois and Morehead State continue their OVC play tomorrow at 9 a.m. against each other.
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