ROCKFORD, Ill. – Macomb Volleyball split Saturday's (Aug. 23) action at the Opening Weekend Tournament (OWT), winning the opener against Highland (Ill.) in three sets before dropping their first match of the season against Southeastern (Iowa). With the Saturday split, the Monarchs ended the day with a 3-1 record.

MATCH ONE: Macomb 3, Highland 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22)
The Monarchs improved to 3-0 on the season and maintained a perfect set record (9-0) after dispatching Highland in Saturday's opener by set scores of 25-15, 25-20 and 25-22. The sophomore trio of Kara Beeker, Kaley Eller and Jordan Pflaum proved to be too much for Highland to handle as the group amassed 29 of the team's 38 kills in the three-set sweep. Beeker and Pflaum recorded 11 kills each, while Eller followed with seven kills.

Pflaum only committed one error on 26 attempts for a .385 hitting percentage and Eller went error-free once again on 16 attempts to post a .438 hitting percentage.

Korin Hutton quarterbacked the offense to the tune of 30 assists while adding four digs and two kills, while Sophia Kulaga led the defensive charge with 14 digs.

As a team, the Monarchs had 11 aces and were led by Beeker and Pflaum with four each.

MATCH TWO: Southeastern 3, Macomb 0 (20-25, 20-25, 18-25)
After three straight victories in sweeping fashion to begin the season, the Monarchs suffered their first setback of the campaign with a three-set loss to Southeastern (Iowa). Kara Beeker and Kaley Eller tallied seven kills each and Jordan Pflaum added five kills of her own to pace the offensive effort. Brooke Baker led the team in aces with two.

Defensively, Kaley Eller had a pair of solo blocks while Pflaum and Sophia Kulaga posted 13 digs each.

UP NEXT: OWT Finale
The Monarchs will wrap up OWT 2025 play on Sunday with two more matches. The first match of the day is set for 9:30 a.m. CT against Kankakee while the OWT finale is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT against host and 18^th ranked McHenry County.