WVB: IPFW Downs Western Illinois 3-1

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Senior libero Tessa McGill made IPFW history on Monday night becoming only the second player at IPFW to reach 2,000 career digs. She recorded a match-high 24 digs against Western Illinois as the Mastodons went on to record their eighth-straight win.
 
IPFW is now 17-3 overall with a 7-3 Summit League record after defeating the Leathernecks 27-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22. Emily Spencer posted a match-high 20 kills on Monday night and the senior duo of Jessie Manwaring and Haley Emenhiser joined the sophomore in double digits with 10 and 11 kills respectively.
 
Megan Steenhuysen was the floor general for the IPFW offense as she ended the night with 55 assists against Western Illinois. Jen Milligan and Hailie Ripley were forces on defense as Milligan recorded 12 digs and Ripley led the team with four blocks.

McGill now has 2,014 career digs which places her second all-time at IPFW behind Peachy Jankowski (2,253 / 2004-07) and fifth all-time in the Summit League. McGill is closing in on fourth place all-time which is currently held by Erin Jones of IUPUI (2,067).
 
IPFW got off to a slow start as the Leathernecks opened up an 8-2 lead to begin the first set. Head Coach Kelley Hartley Hutton used a timeout early in attempt to break up the momentum, but Western Illinois scored the first two points out of the break.
 
The Mastodons exchanged points and trailed 12-4 moments later, but a three-point run allowed IPFW to cut the lead to five. The second IPFW run tied the game at 14-14 as the Mastodons rattled off five straight to tie the game.
 
The set was tight the rest of the way as Western Illinois held on to a slim advantage. Emily Spencer came up huge for the Mastodons making back-to-back kills down the stretch to tie the game at 23-23. Spencer ended the first set with eight kills.
 
25 points would not be enough as the opening set went into overtime with the score tied at 25-25. Kendall Wienkes gave IPFW a one point lead and an attack error from the Leathernecks gave IPFW a 27-25 win.
 
A five-point scoring streak was the difference in the second set as Western Illinois turned a 12-11 lead into a 17-11 advantage. Samantha Fournier recorded two kills during that stretch and IPFW also committed three errors. The match was tied at 1-1 after the Leathernecks pulled out a 25-18 win.
 
The third set was tied at 4-4, before IPFW exploded with an 8-0 run that gave them a 12-4 cushion. Western Illinois couldn't recover as IPFW took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-15 win.
 
Neither team was able to build a lead early in the fourth set as the game was tied 15-15 before a Mastodon scoring streak pushed the score to 18-15. Western Illinois called a timeout, but IPFW kept the momentum by scoring the next two points. A service error ended the streak temporarily but the Mastodons would not be denied as they won the set 25-22.
 
IPFW will return to action this Friday, Oct. 12 when they host the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at 7 p.m.