West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University's women's volleyball team split their matches on the opening day of the Saint Louis University Tournament, held at Chaifetz Pavilion. The Leathernecks first faced Murray State in a closely contested five-set match but fell short in the final set. Later in the afternoon, they secured a straight-sets victory over Austin Peay.

In their morning match against Murray State, Western Illinois dropped the first two sets by identical scores of 25-20. The team responded with a win in the third set, 25-19, with contributions from Keyana Cruse, Caroline Clayton, and Elizabeth Ziegler. Senior middle Grace Kremer also played a key role late in the set. The Leathernecks carried that momentum into the fourth set but narrowly lost 26-24 after a strong showing from Adair and Kiyah Franklin. In the decisive fifth set, Western Illinois took an early lead before Murray State rallied to win 15-12.

The second match of the day saw Western Illinois take on Austin Peay. The Leathernecks started strong with an early lead in the first set and went on to claim it 25-22 behind performances from Cruse and Ziegler. They maintained control in the second set for a 25-15 win as Adair and Kremer led early efforts. Despite Austin Peay taking an initial lead in the third set, Western Illinois regained control through kills by Cruse and Audrey Pender to secure a 25-20 victory and sweep the match.

With these results, Western Illinois moves to a season record of 1-4. The team will conclude its participation at the SLU Tournament on Saturday by facing host Saint Louis University.

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