Richmond, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky volleyball team handed Eastern Illinois its first Ohio Valley Conference loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, thanks in part to a match-high 19 kills from Liz Guard, which pushed the junior's career kill total over 1,000.

The Panthers (22-5, 13-1 OVC) entered the match undefeated in OVC play but hit just .124 over the course of the bout, as EKU (23-4, 13-1 OVC) pulled into a first-place tie with its opponent and established a new school record for league wins in a year. Should the Colonels win their final two OVC matches (Morehead State and Austin Peay), EKU would grab the top seed and play host to the 2004 OVC Volleyball Championships.

Guard led all players with 19 kills in the win, including 10 in game two alone, which pushed her career total to 1,016 kills and made her the 11th player to tally 1,000 kills as a Colonel. The native of Willoughby, Ohio, hit .679 in the match, with no errors off 28 swings, to help EKU to a .262 mark.

Freshman Amy Arlinghaus and senior Lesley Aldridge did their parts offensively, chipping in 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Aldridge added 24 digs for her team-leading 18th double-double of the year.

Eastern tallied 93 digs over the four-game match led by freshman Brittany Nobilio, who paced all players with 30 digs (her fifth match of the year with 30-or-more digs). Sophomore Jessica Sabath added 20 digs in the victory, while sophomore Kelly Jennings came up with a 55-assist, 10-dig double-double.

The Panthers came out firing in game one, tallying 21 kills en route to a 30-28 victory. The two teams traded punches the entire way, with EKU finally going on top 28-27 after a kill by Sabath. EIU responded by scoring three unanswered points, including a service ace by Heather Redenbo, to pull out the win.

Eastern Illinois picked up where it left off in game two, running out to a quick 7-2 advantage before an EKU timeout. The Colonels fought back, however, and used a 7-1 run to go ahead 9-8. Eastern Kentucky used the momentum to build a 19-16 lead, then closed out the game with an 11-2 run to pick up a 30-18 win. EKU hit .429 in the win (compared to EIU's .048 percentage) and received 10 kills from Guard.

After taking game three, 30-23, the Colonels found themselves in another close contest in the fourth game. EIU led 12-8 through the early goings, but EKU evened the game at 13-all moments later. Consecutive service aces by Redenbo put the Panthers on top 15-13 at the midway point before hitting errors and strong front line play by EKU allowed the home team to take a 24-19 lead. The Colonels did not let up and sealed the match with a 30-21 victory after closing out the game on an 11-3 run. EKU outhit EIU .280 to .039 in the final set.

EKU tallied 10 total team blocks in the win, led by a match-high five from sophomore Kasha Brozek. Aldridge chipped in four blocks, followed by three a piece from Guard and sophomore Denise Grundhoefer.

Megan Kennedy led the Panthers with 14 kills in the losing effort, led by 13 a piece from Erica Gerth and Shanna Ruxer. EIU tallied 81 digs in the match, led by Redenbo (24) and setter Maren Crabtree (21). Gerth added 11 digs to her kill total, allowing her to move into first place on the school's all-time digs list.

EKU closes out the regular season next week when it travels to Morehead State on Wednesday, before hosting Austin Peay for Senior Day on Saturday at 4 p.m.