West Central Reporter

WIU's volleyball team faced a challenging end to their season with a loss against Morehead State in the first round of the OVC Volleyball Tournament. The match took place at Houck Field House in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Leathernecks were led by Elizabeth Ziegler, who contributed seven kills with a hitting percentage of .385. Keyana Cruse and Brittany Wulf each added five kills, with Cruse also making an impact defensively with 10 digs and two blocks. WIU lost all three sets (24-26, 15-25, 19-25), concluding their season with an overall record of 17-13.

In the first set, WIU showed potential by pushing into extra points but ultimately fell short at 24-26. They managed 13 kills during this set, marking their best offensive performance of the match with a hitting percentage of .162.

The second set saw WIU struggle to maintain momentum as they only registered three kills and hit -.179. Morehead State capitalized on errors made by WIU, leading to a set loss at 15-25 despite four blocks from the Leathernecks.

During the final set, WIU attempted to rally back slightly with ten kills and a .100 hitting percentage but could not surpass Morehead State, resulting in a 19-25 defeat.

Overall, WIU had difficulties offensively throughout the match as they recorded just a .042 hitting percentage and committed 22 attack errors. They did achieve six total blocks and four service aces but were unable to overcome Morehead State's balanced offense and strong net presence.

Despite this setback, "the Leathernecks won the most games in a single season (17) since 2005" and tied for "the most wins in conference play (11) in program history."

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