EDWARDSVILLE, Ill – The Idaho volleyball team fell in four sets, 21-25, 13-25, 25-18, 15-25, to Western Illinois on Saturday morning to close out the final day at the Cougar Classic.

Libero Aine Doty led the defensive effort in the back row with a career-high 35 digs, while Renata Lopez Morales recorded four blocks. Offensively, Zuzanna Wieczorek posted a team-high 11 kills and setter Lacy Cox tallied 18 assists. 
 
Western Illinois opened with a 25-21 first set victory. It was a back-and-forth affair as the set consisted of five ties and four lead changes. The Leathernecks broke it open using a 6-0 run with the Vandals up 18-16 to build separation and go up 1-0. 

The Vandals fell down 0-2 in the match after Western Illinois won the second set, 25-13. The Leathernecks used seven service aces and two service errors by Idaho to help win the set. 
 
Idaho bounced back to win the third set, 25-18. The Vandals posted 14 kills and four of their 12 blocks to stay alive. 

Western Illinois closed out the match in the fourth with a 25-15 victory. The story of the match was Idaho's struggle on the attack, hitting -0.023 percent with eight kills and nine errors. 
 
The Vandals finish out non-conference play next week with a trip to St. George, Utah for three matches at the Utah Tech Tournament, Sept. 15-16. Idaho will open with two matches on Friday, Sept. 15 against Marshall (10 a.m.) and Utah Tech (5:30 p.m.) before facing Southern Utah on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m.

Leaders vs. Western Illinois
Kills: Zuzanna Wieczorek – 11
Assists: Lacy Cox – 18
Digs: Aine Doty – 35
Blocks: Renata Lopez Morales – 4

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