Macomb, Ill- WIU volleyball won their sixth straight match this afternoon sweeping UT Martin in three sets and taking both matches from the Skyhawks this weekend. With the win, the Leathernecks remain in the top four in the Ohio Valley Conference standings improving their conference record to 8-3.
WIU was once again led offensively by Keyana Cruse who finished with a match-high 16 kills hitting .324 on the afternoon. Maggie Craker had a match-high 30 assists and Julianna Schmidt led the way defensively once again with a match-high eight blocks.
In set one, UT Martin came out with a 6-3 run. Just like the night prior, the Leathernecks would respond in a big way going on a 6-2 run of their own to take the set lead at 9-8. During the run, the Leathernecks would have three blocks and Keyana Cruse and Brittany Wulf would each have a kill. The Skyhawks responded with an 8-4 run of their own taking the lead at 16-13. WIU would follow that with a 9-3 run and would go on to take the first set by a score of 26-24.
In set two, the Skyhawks once again jumped out to a early lead by a score of 6-2. Just like the previous set, the Leathernecks would go on a big 9-2 run taking the set lead at 11-8. Brittany Wulf would have a kill and Keyana Cruse would have two kills to highlight the run. Later in the set, a Brittany Wulf kill would spark a quick 3-0 run for the Leathernecks giving them the set lead at 14-11. WIU would hold on to that lead the rest of the set and take the second set by a score of 25-19.
In set three, WIU would take control for most of the set. The Leathernecks jumped out to a 12-5 lead to start the set behind kills from Brittany Wulf, Keyana Cruse, and Julianna Schmidt. Wulf and Cruse would each have back-to-back kills later in the set to give WIU the set three victory by a score of 25-16, sweeping the Skyhawks in three sets.
WIU will travel to Arkansas next Friday and Saturday to take on Little Rock, who is currently above the Leathernecks in the conference standings. Friday's match is scheduled for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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