COLUMBIA, MOÂ - The Western Illinois volleyball team was unable to come out on top against the Missouri Tigers, losing the match 3 sets to 0.The Leathernecks grabbed the opening point of all 3 sets, but were unable to take that momentum into the rest of the sets against a very strong Missouri squad.
Western Illinois went down 8-3 in set 1, but was able to get the score back to 6-8, before the Tigers went on a 9-0 run, ballooning the score out to 17-6. The teams then traded a few points back and forth, before Missouri went on a 6-0 run, which led to the final for the set being 25-9.
In set 2, the Leathernecks were able to stop any very long runs, but Missouri was able to go on 5 separate runs of 3 or more points, capping off the set with a 7-0 run, culminating in a second set final score of 25-11.Â
The Leathernecks were able to go out to a 2 point lead in the beginning of the third set, which ended up being their largest of the day. The Leathernecks were also able to go on a 3-0 run in the third set, which was also the longest of the day for Western. The third set ended with a score of 25-14.
Melaina Hawblitzel led the Leathernecks with 6 kills in the game, with Kennedy Adair and Georgia Haynes both having 4 kills as well. Jaleah Bauss had 14 assists for the Leathernecks, and Grace Ulatowski led the team with 10 digs.
The Tigers were led in kills by Ceylin Kuyan and Paige Fielder, who had 14 and 13 respectively. Missouri ended the game with a .507 hitting percentage, which was one of the leading factors in the Tigers success. Nina Mandovic had 26 assists for the Tigers, and Ainoah Cruz led the team with 19 digs.
Coach Silva had some positive comments to make on the game, with one being "We responded to the adjustments made in game and did a good job staying aggressive throughout the match. We just need to minimize the mistakes and make the opponents earn their points". Western Illinois' next match will be Saturday, August 29th against Towson, which will be played at 11AM Central.
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