Sept. 13, 2008

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CARBONDALE, Ill. - (Saturday, September 13, 2008) The Redhawks volleyball team again showed their toughness and resiliency as they battled back from a 2-0 set deficit to win 3-2 (17-25, 24-26, against Western Illinois on day two of the Hampton Inn Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Illinois on Saturday morning. The win sets up a match-up with host and rival Southern Illinois for the tournament championship at 7:00 p.m.

Facing match-point in game four 24-22 the Redhawks (2-3) rallied with a four-straight points highlighted by a Claire Keaton (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) kill to secure the 26-24 set win and forcing the final and deciding set.

Set five was tied two-all before the Redhawks went on a 5-0 run that the Westerwinds (3-6) couldn't recover from and would fall eventually 15-11 with yet another Keaton kill finishing them off.

Even in the two set losses the Redhawks showed more intensity. The opening set featured 13 ties and seven lead changes as the Redhawks actually led 19-17 before a 4-0 run by the Westerwinds gave them the lead and they held on for a the win.

Set two offered even more excitement as it featured 19 ties. The Redhawks pulled ahead 22-21 and looked to have the momentum but the Westerwinds stole it and pulled ahead 23-22 for their first lead of the set. The Redhawks tied the set at 24-24 but the Westerwinds won the final two points for the win. The Westerwinds had an attack percentage of .371 while the Redhawks hit .237.

Set three was all Redhawks as it set the tone for the rest of the match especially defensively. The Redhawks would hold the Westerwinds to a .054 attack percentage and hit .280 themselves.

The set was tied 11-11 before the Redhawks reeled off 12-straight points and held the Westerwinds to 14 points, a season-best for the Redhawks.

Keaton recorded her second-straight double-double of the season. She finished with a match and new career-high 27 kills and recorded 15 digs. It was Keaton's second-straight 20-kill match.

Sophomore middle-blocker Emily Hughes (Memphis, Tenn./St. Benedict HS) set a new career-high with 17 kills and led the team with a .283 attack percentage. Hughes also led the defensive effort with six block assists.

Molly Davis (Muncie, Ind./Burris HS) was one of three Redhawks who finished with over 20 digs with a new career-high of 35 digs. Amanda Rickhoff (Bartelso, Ill./Southwestern Illinois College) finished with 28 digs and Kelly Benacka (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs HS) chipped in 24 digs.

Senior Alyssa Aston (Franklin, Tenn./Franklin HS) recorded a double-double with a match-high 51 assists and 15 digs.

The Westerwinds were led by Monique Houston who finished with 19 kills. Elise Crnjak finished with a match-high 37 digs.

MATCH POINTS: With the win the Redhawks improved to 4-1 all-time against the Westerwinds with their lone loss coming in 1977...The Redhawks improve to 2-0 in five-set matches. Last season the Redhawks went 8-1 in five set matches.