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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Just as it did on Friday, the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team opened its match by winning the first two sets, on Saturday the Colonels finished the job, beating Eastern Illinois 3-0 in Charleston, Ill. The win snapped a seven-match losing streak for EKU and evened the team’s conference record at 1-1. Game scores were 29-27, 25-17 and 25-23.
Lindsey Loescher led Eastern Kentucky with 17 kills, including the match-winner. She added five digs and two assists to her totals. Senior
Amanda Wilson totaled 11 kills, a .320 attack percentage and three blocks. Freshman
Hannah Groudle finished with eight kills and three digs.
Abby O'Connor had 18 digs and
Jill Henneman tied her career-best with 36 assists.
Lauren Sopcic led Eastern Illinois with 11 kills and a .364 hitting percentage.
The first set was a close throughout. The two teams were tied 18 times. Loescher’s kill gave EKU set-point at 24-23 but the Panthers tied it up. EIU had set-point three times before Eastern Kentucky finished the set. A ball handling error on Eastern Illinois put the Colonels in front 28-27. Wilson snatched the first set victory with a kill.
Loescher hit .294 in the first set to go along with eight kills.
It appeared the second set would as close as the first. After the first 14 points, the set was tied for the fifth time at 7-7. Eastern Kentucky used a 5-1 run to take control of the set and build a 17-11 lead. Wilson had a pair of kills and Nicole Mulhall had an ace during the run. A service ace by Abby O’Connor gave the visitors a 9-point advantage. An Eastern Illinois service error gave the Colonels set point, 24-15. Three plays later Groudle finished off the set with a kill.
EKU posted a .458 attack percentage in the second set, committing only one error.
The third set turned into a combination of the first two. The Colonels continued their hot play by jumping out to an 8-1 lead. Three EIU attack errors and three service aces by Mulhall contributed to the quick start.
An ace from Loescher made it 14-9. A kill by Henneman extended the margin to seven, 20-13. After a Panther service error made it 21-15, Eastern Illinois went on a 9-3 run to tie the set. Sopcic had four kills during the run. The set was tied twice more before a kill by Groudle put Eastern Kentucky in front 27-26. On the next play Loescher ended the match with a kill from the left side.
EKU hit .119 in the third set and .230 for the match. The Panthers committed eight errors in the third set and finished the match with a .195 attack percentage.
The Colonels will play their first home match of the season on Tuesday when Tennessee State visits McBrayer Arena. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
