Jacks snap skid at WIU on Hobo Day

Saturday, October 24

Macomb, Ill.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

10/24/2009 10:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: SDSU Sports Info

MACOMB, Ill. - The South Dakota State volleyball team snapped its season-long five match losing streak on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Western Illinois at Brophy Hall in Macomb, Ill.

The win, which boosts the Jackrabbits to 7-14 overall and 6-7 in The Summit league, helps keep the Jacks in the race to make the four-team Summit League Tournament in November.

The Fighting Leathernecks fall to 8-17 overall and 4-9 in league play with the loss.

Ellyce Youngren led the Jack with 17 kills in the win and added 11 digs for her first career double-double, Kelly Herrmann added a career-high 12 kills and hit .423 (12-1-26). Fiona Jones also reached double digits with 10 kills.

Stacey Wernert led the Jackrabbit defense with a career-high 26 digs in the win.

Cait Egan led three WIU players in double digits with 15 kills.

After falling behind 6-5 in the first set, the Jackrabbits rattled off an 11-3 run to take a commanding 16-9 lead that they would not relinquish in a 25-19 win.

The Jacks led the second set 18-13, but WIU battled back to tie the match at 22-all and then again at 24-all, but the Jacks capitalized on a pair of Leatherneck mistakes in the next two points to win the set 26-24.

SDSU lead by as many as four points in the third set at 14-10, but Western fought back to tie the match at 16-all, and this time, used the momentum to force a fourth set with a 25-21 win.

Western then jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the fourth set, but the Jacks battled back to eventually tie the match at 14 and then take a 15-14 lead that they would not give up in a 25-23 fourth set win.

The Jacks return to action with a trio of home matches next week, starting with Northern Iowa on Wednesday at 6 p.m., followed by Summit League matches against Southern Utah on Friday and UMKC on Saturday. Both of the weekend matches start at 7 p.m.