West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University faced Chicago State in their final non-conference volleyball match on Tuesday night, concluding with a loss. The Leathernecks initially showed strong performance but were defeated in straight sets, moving their season record to 6-13.

In the first set, WIU began with an impressive start. Annika Black initiated the momentum with a kill that led to an 8-3 run. Kennedy Bauer ended this streak with another kill, prompting Chicago State to call an early timeout. After the break, Chicago State responded with a 7-2 run, leveling the score at 10. Grace Kremer's kill gave WIU a brief lead at 11-10, followed by another point from Kennedy Adair. However, Chicago State gained control with a 7-1 run, forcing WIU into a timeout as they trailed 17-13. Despite efforts from Julianna Schmidt and Bauer, Chicago State secured the first set at 25-21.

The second set saw WIU take an early lead of 3-2 after a service ace by Maggie Craker and a kill by Grace Ulatowski. However, Chicago State quickly overtook them at 4-3 and maintained dominance throughout the set. A significant factor was two separate runs of three points each and one four-point run by Chicago State, leading them to win the second set comfortably at 25-16.

The third set began evenly matched with four ties in the initial points. At 4-4, Chicago State executed another decisive 7-2 run to pull ahead to 11-6. The Leathernecks countered with their own efforts including a kill from Adair and another service ace from Craker but could not regain control. The Cougars maintained their advantage until closing out the match with a final set score of 25-17.

Throughout the match, Western Illinois had contributions from thirteen players on court. Freshmen Kennedy Adair and Grace Ulatowski led offensively for WIU with four kills each; Adair also led defensively with seven digs. Notably, WIU surpassed Chicago State in blocks five to four.

Looking ahead, Western Illinois will host Southern Indiana at Western Hall this Friday and Saturday.