Box Score
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Two of the five sets went to overtime and the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team overcame a 2-1 deficit to squeak out a 3-2 majority win against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on election night. Three players recorded 11 or more kills for the Colonels (6-19).
Game scores were 32-30, 17-25, 21-25, 26-24 and 15-12.
Junior
Lindsey Loescher led the victorious squad with 24 kills along with 11 digs and four blocks. Seniors
Bridget Mustard and
Amanda Wilson added 11 kills each. Mustard committed only two errors, hit .409 and contributed five blocks. Wilson added four blocks to her totals.
Emily Rahn posted a team-high 20 kills and a .319 attack percentage for the Cougars (11-12). Sydney Winslow added 16 kills and 15 digs. Five players finished with 10 or more kills for SIUE.
The first set was tied 16 times and took seven extra points to win. A kill by SIUE’s Kelsey Hubert gave the Cougars set-point at 24-22. The Colonels won the next two points, on kills by Wilson and
Hannah Groudle, to tie the set. An error by the Cougars gave Eastern Kentucky set-point at 25-24, but an EKU error tied the score again. The set went back and forth until a kill by Loescher made it 31-30. An attack error by Winslow gave the set to Eastern, 32-30.
SIU Edwardsville won the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead. The fourth set saw eight ties and five lead changes. A kill by Rahn gave SIUE a 24-20 lead and put the Cougars one point away from winning the match. The Colonels didn’t fold. EKU scored six unanswered points to take the set and even the match at 2-2. The set ended on five straight errors by SIU Edwardsville.
In the decisive fifth set, a block by Mustard and Loescher gave Eastern Kentucky match-point, 14-10. The Cougars scored two straight to cut the deficit in half, but a block by
Kate Hendle and Mustard completed the Colonel comeback.
Sophomore
Abby O'Connor finished with a match-high 32 digs for EKU. Hendle totaled a team-high 53 assists.
The Cougars had 76 kills compared to 59 for Eastern Kentucky. However, SIUE committed 11 service errors and 34 attack errors.
The Colonels will begin a three-match home stand on Friday when Tennessee-Martin visits McBrayer Arena for a 7 p.m. match.
