MACOMB, Ill. - Senior Cait Egan put down 10 kills to become the ninth member of the 1,000 Kills Club and the Western Illinois volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory (25-22, 26-24, 25-18) over DePaul Tuesday night (Oct. 18) inside Western Hall.
Egan needed six kills to join the exclusive club and collected her sixth kill in the second set when she put Western Illinois up 8-6 off a set by sophomore Sarah Fetter. Egan is the fourth player under tenth-year head coach Kym McKay to enter the exclusive club along with Ashley Baker, Amy Sauerwein and Monique Houston. Egan, who now owns 1,004 career kills, needs 35 more kills this season to move past Western Illinois Hall of Famer Diane Ellefritz (1987-91) into eighth place on the program's all-time list.
"It is a great accomplishment for her," said McKay about Egan's 1,000th career kill. "She has achieved something that very few players accomplish. Cait is my fourth player to reach that milestone. It is a fantastic and prestigious honor at any institution."
The Fighting Leathernecks evened up their overall record at 11-11 by outperforming the Blue Demons (4-17) in every statistical category. Western held advantages in kills (45-36), digs (69-64), blocks (6-3) and service aces (4-2). Western also held DePaul to a .081 attack percentage, which is the lowest opponent mark since Sept. 13 against Chicago State (.041).
Senior Brooke Stittleburg put down a match-high 12 kills on 39 attempts to lead the Leatherneck attack. She had five kills on 20 attempts in the second set and four on 11 swings in the final frame. It is her third double-digit effort of the season.
Fetter distributed the ball evenly and dished out 36 assists. It is her fourth highest assist total in a three-set match this season. Fetter also collected three kills on six attempts and is hitting .368 over the last three matches.
Junior Bridget Murphy compiled 21 digs for her thirteenth 20-plus dig effort this season. Murphy, who ranks fourth in the nation with 5.99 digs per set, needs two more digs (1,125) to move past Rachel Horvat (1989-93) into eighth place on the program's all-time list.
Freshman Mallory Gibson put down a season-high seven kills on 17 attempts for a stellar .353 attack percentage. She also collected four total blocks and owns 43 total blocks this season in just 46 sets played.
Freshman Ann Miller had six kills, two service aces and 12 digs while junior Katie Hosteng put down seven kills. Freshman Molly Murphy compiled 15 digs for her seventh double-digit effort of the season.
Western Illinois has one day off before hitting the road to take on Oral Roberts on Thursday (Oct. 20). The first-place Golden Eagles, who swept the Fighting Leathernecks in Macomb on Sept. 24, defeated UMKC and South Dakota over the weekend to improve to 17-4 overall and 10-1 in conference play. First serve from Tulsa, Okla. is set for 7 p.m. inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.
