Macomb, IL- Western Illinois Volleyball not only won their fifth-straight match Friday, but also started off 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with a four-set victory over the SIUE Cougars. This is the second year in a row WIU has won their conference opening match with a win over SIUE. The Leathernecks' five-match winning streak is the longest win streak for WIU Volleyball since 2007. 

In set one, WIU would start with a 7-4 lead following back-to-back kills by Brittany Wulf. The two teams would trade the next 10 points giving the Leathernecks a 12-9 lead. Wulf would extend the WIU lead with another kill, finishing the first set with six kills. The first set would continue to be back-and-forth until WIU would close the first set on a 7-2 run giving the Leathernecks the first set victory by a score of 25-17. During the run, Elizabeth Ziegler and Keyana Cruse would each have 2 kills along with a Julianna Schmidt and Brittany Wulf block to finish off the set. 

In set two, SIUE would jump out to a 5-1 lead with three different Cougars having a kill early on. The Leathernecks would respond by going on a 7-1 run of their own to take the second set lead at 8-6. Back-to-back kills by Maggie Craker and Brittany Wulf would be the highlight of the run, as WIU would remain in front until the middle of the set. A 6-1 run by the Cougars would tie the set at 17-17, making things uncomfortable for the Leathernecks. SIUE would have another big run late in the second set to win the set by a score of 25-23. 

In set three, SIUE would again jump out to an early lead at 9-4. A Grace Ulatowski kill would spark a Leatherneck comeback as they would go on a 4-1 run to cut the Cougar lead to 10-9. The two teams would again go back-and-forth for the next several points with SIUE hanging on to a 18-15 lead. Keyana Cruse and Maggie Craker would have back-to-back kills for the Leathernecks to give them the late lead at 19-18. SIUE followed that with a 5-3 run to get  the lead back in the set at 23-22. A kill by Brittany Wulf followed by back-to-back attack errors would give WIU the third set victory by a score of 25-23. 

In the fourth set, WIU would take an early 11-4 lead to start the set. During the early moments of the set, Elizabeth Ziegler would have 3 kills to lead the way for the Leathernecks.. SIUE would not go down without a fight as they would claw their way back into the set trailing late by a score of 19-18. A kill by Brittany Wulf would extend the Leatherneck lead to 20-18 and sparked a mini run by WIU, who would go up 22-18 late in the set. The Cougars would once again fight back and trail the set by a score of 23-22, but the Leathernecks would hold on for the fourth set victory by a score of 25-22. 

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