Evansville, IN- The Leatherneck volleyball team made a statement tonight winning their third straight match in sweeping fashion, defeating Southern Indiana in three sets. The Leathernecks are now 11-8 overall with a 5-3 conference record. 

The offense was balanced tonight for WIU as Keyana Cruse finished the match with 12 kills followed by Brittany Wulf (11 kills), Julianna Schmidt (8 kills), Elizabeth Ziegler (8 kills), and Grace Nichols (7 kills). Defensively, Karli Wenzel had a match-high 36 digs and Julianna Schmidt had 3 blocks. Wenzel now ranks 3rd all-time in program history in career digs and is only 62 digs away from being second all-time. 

Set one was back-and-forth the entire set with the biggest lead being five. WIU would score six of the first seven points in the opening set with two kills coming from Keyana Cruse and back-to-back aces coming from Maggie Craker. Southern Indiana would follow that by going on a 7-1 run to tie the set at eight. Later in the set, three straight kills from Cruse would give the Leathernecks some breathing room taking a 16-12 lead halfway through the set. The Screaming Eagles would once again go on another run to cut the WIU lead to two at 18-16. The two sides would battle the rest of the set as WIU would get to set point five different times and USI would get to set point three different times. The Leathernecks would end the first set on a 4-1 run with kills from Elizabeth Ziegler, Brittany Wulf, and Julianna Schmidt to give WIU the first set win by a score of 32-30. 

In set two, USI would go up by as much as six at 17-11. The Leathernecks would get back into the set using a 4-0 run to cut the Screaming Eagle deficit to 17-15 thanks to kills by Julianna Schmidt and Kennedy Adair. Following a Southern Indiana timeout, WIU would go on a 7-4 extended run to take the set lead at 22-21. During the run, Julianna Schmidt would have 3 kills and Grace Ulatowski added a service ace. The Leathernecks ended set two on a 3-0 run to take the set by a score of 25-22. 

In set three, the Leathernecks would make a statement and beat Southern Indiana by a score of 25-14. WIU was in control for the entire set going up by as much as 11 following a Brittany Wulf kill. USI would go on a 4-1 run late, but in the end it was the Leathernecks taking the third set and sweeping the Screaming Eagles.

WIU will play Southern Indiana tomorrow afternoon to finish the regular season series between the two teams. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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