EVANSVILLE, IN - The Western Illinois Volleyball team went on the road to battle Southern Indiana on October 23rd and 24th, losing the first match three sets to one, and the second match three sets to zero.
FRIDAY
The first match was highlighted by long point scoring runs for USI, with the first set seeing 6 runs of three points or more by the Screaming Eagles. The Leathernecks started out set one up 2-0, and had a three point run of their own coming out of the media timeout to bring the score back to 15-11, but were unable to get anything else going, ultimately going down 25-14.Â
The second set started out with a 6-1 Screaming Eagles lead, and although the Leathernecks were able to fight back, bringing the score to 4-7, 5-8, and 7-10, The team let an 11-2 run end the set with a final score of 25-13.
Set three was one that had many ties and lead changes, with seven ties happening before the score got to 9-9. The Leathernecks then won five straight points off the service of Ashlee Markert, who had back to back aces in this run. The Screaming Eagles were able to bring the score to 14-12 before Western Illinois got a point to bring this set into the media break, as well as getting the score to 15-15 as well coming out of the media break. Both teams then traded points back and forth until the score got to 21 all, before a small Leatherneck run led them to taking the set 25-23.
Set four started with USI going up 5-0, and never looking back after that, going into the media timeout up 15-6, and winning the set 25-15.
Kennedy Adair was the lone Leatherneck to go above 10 kills in the match, having 15 on the day. Jaleah Bauss led the way for Western Illinois with 13 assists, with Madelyn Norton having 8 assists as well in the match. Grace Ulatowski had 15 digs in the match, which led the way for Western Illinois, followed by Kennedy Adair with 9, and Ashlee Markert with 8. Ashlee Markert also had five service aces on the match, which was the leader for the Leathernecks.
SATURDAY
Set one of match two began with USI taking an early 5-2 lead, before two straight Leatherneck points brought the score to 5-4. The Screaming Eagles then went on a 5-0 run, followed by a Western Illinois 5-0 run of their own, bringing the score to 10-9 in favor of USI. The teams went back and forth up until the media timeout, where the score was 15-12 USI. Western Illinois was able to tie the game up at 17 after the media timeout, before a 3-0 run for the Screaming Eagles. The teams then kept trading points until the set score was 23-23, before USI got the last two points of the set, taking it 25-23.
Set two of match two started out with USI going up 4-1, before a 6-0 Leatherneck run brought the score to 7-4. The teams traded points until the score was 9-9, before a 6-1 run from Western Illinois gave the team a 15-10 lead heading into the media timeout. Western Illinois extended the lead to 19-12, before a small three point run by both teams gave the Leathernecks a 22-16 lead. The Screaming Eagles then went on a miraculous 9-1 run to give USI a 25-23 set win.
Set three of match two began with a 4-1 USI start, and more dominant USI runs, bringing the score to 13-5. The teams kept trading points back and forth for the rest of the set, but the slow start was too much to overcome, leading to a final score of 25-16, and the end of the match.
Western Illinois was led in kills by match two by Kennedy Adair with 9 kills, followed by Ashlee Markert with 7. Madelyn Norton led the team with 15 assists, with Jaleah Bauss trailing closely with 13. Grace Ulatowski had 14 digs on the day, with Ashlee Markert being the only other Leathernecks with double digits, with 10. Hillary Estes and Jaleah Bauss were also the only two Leathernecks with Aces on the day.
The Leathernecks will be back at home on October 30th and 31st, with matches against SIUE.
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