West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University faced a challenging match against Southeast Missouri State Redhawks on Friday night, ultimately losing in five sets. The defeat places WIU at 6-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference play.

In the first set, Western Illinois struggled initially but managed to narrow the gap with key plays from Annika Black and Maggie Craker. Despite efforts from Grace Kremer and Keyana Cruse, SEMO took the set 26-24 after a strong finish.

The second set saw WIU gaining an early lead through Cruse's performance. A series of successful plays by Kennedy Adair and Kremer extended their advantage, allowing WIU to secure the set 25-21.

Set three was marked by alternating runs between both teams. Although WIU fought back with contributions from Julianna Schmidt, SEMO prevailed with a decisive run to win 25-17.

In the fourth set, WIU quickly regained momentum with significant plays from Kremer and Cruse. They maintained their lead despite SEMO's attempts to close in, winning the set 25-22 thanks to Cruse's crucial kills.

The final set began promisingly for WIU as they led early on. However, SEMO rallied back to tie and eventually overtook WIU with a final push, clinching the set 15-11 and winning the match 3-2.

Throughout the game, Western Illinois recorded a total of 62 kills. Keyana Cruse led with 16 kills while Julianna Schmidt added 13. Kennedy Adair, Annika Black, and Grace Kremer each contributed ten kills. Defensively, Kaitlyn Wickersheim had 22 digs followed by Karli Wenzel and Grace Ulatowski with 20 each. Maggie Craker provided substantial support with 49 assists.