EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Western Illinois volleyball (0-3) fell to the Santa Clara Broncos Sunday (August 26) in their final match of the 2012 SIU-Edwardsville Cougar Classic, 3-0. The Leathernecks were defeated 26-24, 25-22 and 25-19 in the three sets.
"It may be hard to explain to some how an 0-3 weekend and start to the season is actually a good thing, but for this team it is," said head coach April Hall. "We grew this weekend and made more strides in two days than we have in two weeks. Although the record states that we are 0-3, the lessons we learned and the new path we have created for ourselves as a team goes well beyond wins and losses. We will take the week to work hard in practice to claim victory this upcoming weekend at Indiana State."
Katie Hosteng was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing the invite with 31 kills (2.58 per set) and a .297 hitting percentage.
Offensively the Leatherencks were led by Ann Miller (13), Hosteng (10), Heather Smith (9) and Samantha Fournier (9) who each finished with nine or more kills. Sarah Fetter finished with a game-high 37 assists.
Bridget Murphy again led all Leathernecks in digs with 12, while Miller and Fetter each added 10 apiece.
Through the first weekend of action, Miller has 46 kills, a team-best, while Hosteng (31), Fournier (27), Smith (26) and Mallory Gibson (13) each owe double-digit kills. Fetter has dished out a team-best 129 assists, Bailey Kaloupek has a team-high three service aces, and Murphy leads the team in digs with 51.
The Leathernecks will look to bounce back next weekend with their second invitational of the season, the Drury Inn Jessica Barkman Memorial Classic hosted by Indiana State. Western is slated to face SIU-Edwardsville and Loyola on Saturday (Sept. 1) and hosts Indiana State on Sunday (Sept. 2).
