Macomb, IL- Leatherneck volleyball dropped their final match of their three match homestand to Lindenwood in five sets. WIU was led offensively by Keyana Cruse who had a match-high 23 kills. Elizabeth Ziegler had 13 kills and Brittany Wulf added nine kills to round out the offense for the Leathernecks. Maggie Craker would have another 40 plus assist night as she finished with 49 assists to lead WIU. Defensively, Julianna Schmidt had a match-high 6 blocks and Karli Wenzel ended up with 23 digs.
In set one, the Leatherneck defense would be the difference. WIU had four blocks in the first set, all coming in a five point span giving the Leathernecks an 11-8 lead early on. Those blocks would be part of a big run for WIU and Keyana Cruse would have six kills in the set to take the first set by a score of 25-18.
Set two saw Lindenwood go on four different runs of 3-0 and 4-0 distancing themselves from the Leathernecks. The Lions would have fifteen kills in the second set to win the set by a score of 25-18.
In set three, Elizabeth Ziegler started off with three kills to give WIU the early set lead at 7-4. Later in the set Ziegler would once again have a kill following back-to-back kills by Keyana Cruse extending the Leatherneck lead to 15-9. The Lions would go on a couple of runs to make the set close but in the end it was the Leathernecks taking the third set by a score of 25-22.
In set four and five, Lindenwood would have early runs in the set with the Leathernecks unable to recover and come back. The Lions took set four by a score of 25-16 and took set five by a score of 15-13. During set five, the Leathernecks trailed 6-3 early and would be able to tie the set at 13 thanks to a Keyana Cruse service ace, but WIU would not be able to take the lead late.
The Leathernecks will now hit the road to take on Tennessee Tech on Thursday and Friday. Both matches are set for 2 p.m.
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