IW volleyball takes two at Eureka quad

EUREKA, Ill. - Tiger volleyball fans got their money's worth Friday night at Eureka College. Iowa Wesleyan traveled to Eureka to play in a quad hosted by the Red Devils. It took five sets in each match for the Tigers, but they came away with two conference wins, one against a top team in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

In their first game, Iowa Wesleyan faced off against the host school of Eureka. The Tigers won the first set 25-23, but fell behind after dropping the next two sets to the Red Devils. Iowa Wesleyan evened the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 win in set four, forcing a deciding match. They took the fifth set with a 15-12 win.

Sydney Ellsworth led the way with 13 kills, while Lida Landre added 10 kills. Iowa Wesleyan had the advantage over the Red Devils with 10 blocks in the match. Jordan Miller and Landre each had three block assists win the win.

Iowa Wesleyan had a tough test in their final match of the night. They took on Westminster College, who was one of the top team in the SLIAC standings. The Tigers came out strong in the first set, winning 25-16 over the Blue Jays. Westminster took the second set, but IW took a 2-1 advantage winning the third set 25-19.The Blue Jays forced the deciding set after tying the match 2-2 with a 25-23 win in the fourth set. Iowa Wesleyan came out on top in the fifth set, defeating Westminster 15-12 to take the match by a score of 3-2.

Lida Landre had an impressive 21 kills in the match and added five block assists for the Tigers. Jenna Murphy finished with a team high 30 digs against the Blue Jays. Paige Kammerer and Ariel Smale each recorded 17 digs, while Kammerer led the Tigers with 30 assists in the win.

The Tigers improve to 6-15 on the season and 4-7 in SLIAC play. They will return to Ruble Arena today (Tuesday) when they take on the University of Dubuque at 7 p.m.