Volleyball Just Misses the Reverse Sweep at Western Illinois

BOX SCORE

Morehead, KY-- The Morehead State volleyball team battled down to the wire and nearly pulled off its second reverse sweep of the season before falling 3-2 to Western Illinois at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill.

Grad Student Middle Hitter Irene Wogenstahl led the Morehead State attack with 19 kills, hitting .385. Senior Macy Welborn slammed 14 terminations to lead Morehead State (12-13) (8-6 OVC). Junior M.E. Hargan recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs.

Western Illinois (16-11) (10-6 OVC) got out of the gate fast, winning the opening two points and never trailed or were tied with the Eagles. The Leathernecks piled up 14 kills, hitting .300, while the Morehead State attack was limited to seven kills and a .000 hitting percentage.

WIU came out firing on all cylinders to start Set 2 and raced out to a 14-5 lead, extending the advantage to 18-8. The Eagles rallied but fell 25-21, to find themselves behind 2-0 at the break.

Set 3 was considerably tighter, with three ties early. Morehead State gained their first lead of the afternoon at 4-3 and pulled away finally to a 19-9 lead. Like the second set, WIU clawed back into the set, before the Eagles sealed the set win 25-20.

The clubs traded salvos in the fourth set, battling through 15 ties and five lead changes until Hargan's second service ace claimed a 25-21 set victory.

The Leathernecks got out fast in the tiebreaker and claimed the match with a 15-9 set win.

Peighton Isley led the defensive effort with 30 digs.

Keyana Cruse and Brittany Wulf paced the WIU attack with 18 kills; Cruse added 21 digs for her 20th double-double of the season. Grace Nichols pounded 11 kills for WIU.

Notes 

MSU Setters Brenna Bommer and Sydney Sennett recorded double-doubles. Bommer tallied 29 assists and 14 digs, while Sennett dished out 23 assists and dug out 12. 

The Morehead State attack pounded 65 kills to 64 for WIU. However, the Leathernecks committed only 17 attack errors to the Eagles' 28 miscues. 

The Eagles served up nine aces on the afternoon. Bommer led the way with three, Hargan and Courtney Fitzgerald had two apiece. Sydney Wyman and Amelia Nott both had one. 

The Eagles will return to play next week in their final home matches, Thursday and Friday when they host Eastern Illinois. The first serve is set for 6:00 p.m. ET, Thursday.