MACOMB, IL - The Western Illinois Volleyball team finished their third conference series against UT Martin on October 16th and 17th, losing the first match three sets to one, and dropping the second match three sets to zero.
FRIDAY
The first set of match one started off with the Leathernecks going down 2-0, before rallying back and taking four points in a row, giving the team a 6-4 lead. UT Martin then went on a four point run of their own, to put the score at 8-6, before the teams traded points back and forth. Once the score hit 11-9, the teams traded 3 point runs, to put the score at 14-12 in favor of the Skyhawks. Both teams kept trading points back and forth for the rest of the set, which ended with a final score of 25-20 in favor of UT Martin.
Set two of the match started with the Leathernecks going down 5-2, and 8-5, before a 3-0 Leatherneck run nodded the score up at 8. A five point Leatherneck run not long after this gave the team a 13-10 advantage, and Western went into the media timeout up 15-12. The Leathernecks were up 19-15, before a UT Martin four point run nodded the set up at 19. Western was able to go up 22-20 in the set, before a 5-1 Skyhawk run ended the set 25-20 in favor of UT Martin.
Set three saw the Leathernecks go down 4-1, before Hillary Estes was able to have three straight aces, and the team won 9 straight points to go up 11-4 in the set. UT Martin was able to make a comeback, only going into the media break down 15-13. UT Martin came out of the media break strong, taking an 18-17 lead, before 3 runs of two points or more for the Leathernecks gave them a 25-22 set win.Â
The fourth and final set saw Western Illinois go down 5-0 in the very beginning, before the teams traded some points back and forth, but Western was down 15-7 going into the media break. Western was then able to go on a three and four point run only separated by one Skyhawk point to bring the score to 18-16, but with Western ready to strike. UT Martin then went on a 7-1 run of their own, winning the set 25-17.
The kills leader for Western Illinois in match one was Kennedy Adair, with 21, with Georgia Haynes being in second for Western Illinois with 8. Both Adair and Jaleah Bauss had 10 digs, which were tied for the lead for Western. Bauss led the team with 18 assists, followed by Madelyn Norton with 11. Maria Eduarda Pereira Tonella led the Leathernecks with 3 solo blocks and four block assists, although Emelia Kouri did have three block assists in the match. Hillary Estes had four service aces, which followed Kennedy Adair for second on the team, as Adair had 5 aces for herself.
SATURDAY
The second match's first set saw Western Illinois jump out to an early 3-1 lead, before a 5-0 Skyhawk run brought the score to 6-3 in favor of UT Martin. The Leathernecks then tied the score at 6, before the teams started to trade points back and forth. Western was down 15-14 heading into the media timeout, but the teams kept trading points back and forth, being tied 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, and 21-21, before UT Martin went on a run to win the set with a score of 25-21.
Set two of match two was another one that started very close, with the teams going back and forth in points until the game was tied 5-5. After that, the Skyhawks went on a 7-0 run to bring the score to 12-5, and was able to go into the media timeout up 15-10 after a small run by the Leathernecks. Western Illinois took the first point coming out of the media timeout, before a 7-2 run by UT Martin put the score at 21-13. The Leathernecks were able to stage a small comeback, but the set ultimately ended with a score of 25-18.
The third and final set of match three began with the Leathernecks taking a 4-2 lead, before three straight points by the Skyhawks had them having a 5-4 advantage. The teams traded points back and forth, with neither squad being able to go on a big run, until UT Martin took three straight points to go into the media timeout up 15-13. The Skyhawks took advantage of the rest of the set, going on a 10-3 run, and ending the game with a 25-16 win on the set, and taking the match three sets to zero.Â
The kill leaders for match two for Western Illinois were Ashlee Markert with 13, followed by Kennedy Adair with 7. Adair also led the team with 8 digs, and Ashlee Markert was second on the team with 7. Jaleah Bauss led the team with 12 assists, followed by Madelyn Norton with 8.Â
The Leathernecks will be back in action with two matches at Southern Indiana on October 23rd and 24th, and will look to bounce back after this weekend.
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