West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University's volleyball team faced a setback as they lost to Eastern Illinois University in a four-set match on Wednesday night. The defeat brought WIU's conference record to 8-9.

In the first set, Keyana Cruse initiated scoring for WIU with a kill assisted by Maggie Craker. However, EIU quickly countered with a 4-0 run, leading 5-1. Despite WIU's efforts to close the gap, EIU secured the set with a 25-21 victory.

The second set saw EIU start strong with a 5-2 run. WIU attempted to respond with blocks from Julianna Schmidt and Annika Black, but EIU maintained their lead and won the set 25-18.

WIU showed resilience in the third set, taking control after an early tie at 4. They executed an impressive 18-3 run, highlighted by kills from Elizabeth Ziegler and Brittany Wulf, culminating in a decisive 25-8 win for WIU.

In the fourth set, WIU initially trailed but managed to narrow the deficit to one point at various stages. However, EIU's subsequent runs allowed them to clinch the set 25-20 and secure the match victory.

Keyana Cruse led WIU with 17 kills during the game. Brittany Wulf contributed ten kills while Kaitlyn Wickersheim recorded 17 digs. Libero Karli Wenzel added another eleven digs for WIU. On defense, Maggie Craker blocked two shots while Grace Kremer and Julianna Schmidt each had four blocking assists.

WIU is scheduled to conclude their regular season against Eastern Illinois tomorrow at 4 PM.