'Necks can't close out matches
Western Illinois University Athletics Media Services
Issue date: 8/31/09 Section: Sports
The Western Illinois volleyball team ended its stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites of Rochelle Invitational Saturday with a pair of four-game losses to Stephen F. Austin and Southern Illinois -Carbondale.
The Fighting Leathernecks (0-4) won the first set in both matches only to watch their counterparts take the final three. Western fell to SFA 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 13-25 early in the day before suffering a 25-18, 25-27, 21-25, 27-29 setback against the Salukis.
The Leathernecks opened strong against the Ladyjacks, recording 18 kills in the first set compared with SFA's 12. The ensuing sets, however, saw the Ladyjacks respond with a stronger blocking presence as SFA finished the match with a 59-45 advantage in kills and a 10-5 edge in blocks.
Allison Gilbert led Western against SFA in kills for the third-straight match with 15 and recorded a hitting percentage of .375 (15k, 3e, 32ta) while Cait Egan chipped in eight kills. Also for the Leathernecks, Ellen Miller dished up 33 assists, Krissy Bergquist had 13 digs and Bridget Murphy had 12 digs.
While SFA never allowed Western to take over a lead in their winning sets, the Leathernecks held late leads over SIU-C in both the second and fourth sets only to watch the Salukis escape with wins in extra points both times.
"In the Southern game, we were in a position, like we were all weekend, to win a match," said Western Illinois coach Kym McKay. "The one thing we definitely need to focus on and improve is finishing games. We dropped six sets out of the 16 that we played (in the tournament) where we were leading late. We have to be aware of the scoreboard and how it is influencing us."
Western finished the match against SIU-C with a 71-58 advantage in kills and a 64-59 edge in digs, a rare feat in a losing effort. Four players finished with double-digit kills for the Leathernecks including Egan (17), Megan Toczek (16), Gilbert (13) and Katie Hosteng (12). Miller finished with a double-double of 55 assists and 14 digs while Elise Crnjak chipped in 14 digs and Murphy and Bergquist both had 10 digs.
The Fighting Leathernecks (0-4) won the first set in both matches only to watch their counterparts take the final three. Western fell to SFA 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 13-25 early in the day before suffering a 25-18, 25-27, 21-25, 27-29 setback against the Salukis.
The Leathernecks opened strong against the Ladyjacks, recording 18 kills in the first set compared with SFA's 12. The ensuing sets, however, saw the Ladyjacks respond with a stronger blocking presence as SFA finished the match with a 59-45 advantage in kills and a 10-5 edge in blocks.
Allison Gilbert led Western against SFA in kills for the third-straight match with 15 and recorded a hitting percentage of .375 (15k, 3e, 32ta) while Cait Egan chipped in eight kills. Also for the Leathernecks, Ellen Miller dished up 33 assists, Krissy Bergquist had 13 digs and Bridget Murphy had 12 digs.
While SFA never allowed Western to take over a lead in their winning sets, the Leathernecks held late leads over SIU-C in both the second and fourth sets only to watch the Salukis escape with wins in extra points both times.
"In the Southern game, we were in a position, like we were all weekend, to win a match," said Western Illinois coach Kym McKay. "The one thing we definitely need to focus on and improve is finishing games. We dropped six sets out of the 16 that we played (in the tournament) where we were leading late. We have to be aware of the scoreboard and how it is influencing us."
Western finished the match against SIU-C with a 71-58 advantage in kills and a 64-59 edge in digs, a rare feat in a losing effort. Four players finished with double-digit kills for the Leathernecks including Egan (17), Megan Toczek (16), Gilbert (13) and Katie Hosteng (12). Miller finished with a double-double of 55 assists and 14 digs while Elise Crnjak chipped in 14 digs and Murphy and Bergquist both had 10 digs.
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