Charleston, SC - The Leatherneck Volleyball team remained unbeaten on day two of the Buc Dome Invitational defeating Sacred Heart in straight sets. With the win, WIU is now over .500 and has 6 non-conference wins this season, which is the most since 2013. The Leathernecks finished with a 3-0 record on the weekend and have now won four in a row, all of which have been straight set sweeps.
Keyana Cruse had a match-high 16 kills to lead the Leathernecks offensively while Julianna Schmidt had a great day defensively finishing with a match-high 8 blocks, including 3 solo blocks, all coming on three straight plays in the first set. As a team, WIU had 13 blocks in the match.
In set one, WIU would start the set trailing 3-0. A block by Brittany Wulf and Julianna Schmidt would cut the Sacred Heart lead to 3-2 and would spark a 12-2 Leatherneck run to take the set lead at 13-5. During the run, Keyana Cruse would have back-to-back kills and Schmidt would have three straight blocks to fuel the run. WIU followed a 12-2 run with a 6-0 run later in the set to separate themselves from the Pioneers. Cruse would have 3 kills during the 6-0 run, finishing the set with 5 kills. The Leathernecks would take the first set by a score of 25-15.
In set two, Sacred Heart jumped out to a 10-3 lead to start the set. A Brittany Wulf kill would help the Leathernecks go on a 5-1 run to cut the Pioneer lead to 11-8. The two sides would trade the next 5 points giving Sacred Heart the 14-10 set lead. Kennedy Adair would get a kill to make the set 14-11 and that would lead to a 9-2 WIU run to give them the set lead at 19-16. Sacred Heart's early run to start the set would prove to be big as the Pioneers would stay with the Leathernecks eventually tying the set at 24-24. Back-to-back kills by Elizabeth Ziegler and Brittany Wulf would give the Leathernecks the second set win by a score of 27-25.
Similar to set two, Sacred Heart started out with an 8-3 lead. The Leathernecks would go point for point with the Pioneers for the next four points making it a 10-5 lead in favor of Sacred Heart. Grace Kremer would have a block and kill, cutting the deficit to 2 at 10-8. Later in the set, the Pioneers and Leathernecks would trade points back-and-forth with Sacred Heart clinging to a 16-12 lead. A kill by Kennedy Adair started an 11-2 run by WIU taking control of the set by a score of 23-18. During the run, Keyana Cruse would have 4 kills and Grace Ulatowski would bring the Leathernecks to within one with a kill of her own. Cruse would have another kill after the run to get it to match point and the Leathernecks would take care of business winning the third set by a score of 25-19.
WIU will return to Western Hall for a 3 match homestand to open Ohio Valley Conference play. The Leathernecks will play SIUE on Friday, September 27 at 6 PM and Saturday, September 28 at 12 PM. Three days later, WIU will host Lindenwood on October 1 at 6 PM.
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