Oct. 5, 2009

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Cait Egan led all players with 13 kills Monday as Western Illinois defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 25-18, 25-21, 27-25 in college volleyball action.

Western Illinois improved to 7-11 while the Cougars dropped to 1-17.

The Leathernecks used seven service aces to keep the Cougars on their heels. "They served well. They had a good serving strategy," said SIUE Coach Todd Gober.

The Cougars were poised to take the third set at 25-24 only to drop the next three points to the Leathernecks. Egan led WIU with a .429 hitting percentage while teammate Katie Hosteng added 11 kills on a .400 hitting percentage.

Karie Downing led SIUE with 12 kills. SIUE also picked up four blocks in the match, including two from setter Sammi Minton. Blocking was a point of emphasis for Gober.

"Our blocking is improving. We were happy to get a lot of touches," Gober said.

SIUE is now idle for eight days before it returns to the road to face Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo., next Tuesday. Match time is 7 p.m.

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