Box Score (PDF)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Behind a career-high 22 kills from junior Nikki Drost, the EKU volleyball team edged the home standing Panthers of Eastern Illinois University on Friday at Lantz Arena.
 
The Colonels won by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 17-25, and 15-11.
 
Drost turned in her third consecutive double-double, finishing with a match-high 22 kills and 13 digs. Junior Celina Sanks, sophomore Cassie Knutson, and freshman Rachel Woody tallied double-digit kills in the win.
 
After the Panthers claimed the third and fourth sets to push the match into a decisive fifth set, the Colonels boldly swung momentum back into their favor.
 
Sanks found an opening in the EIU defense for the first point of the final set as EKU jumped out to a 5-1 lead—a lead EKU would retain for the entirety of the set, as Drost's swing solidified the victory for the Colonels.
 
Eastern Kentucky controlled the first two sets with ease and looked the close out the match in the third. However, a 6-2 run helped the Panthers slowly gain momentum in front of their home crowd.
 
An opportune timeout from EKU helped pull momentum back in favor of the Colonels, as EKU claimed three straight points to close the Panther lead to one, 15-14. The advantage went back-and-forth before the Panthers clung to a 23-20 lead late in the set. Despite the Colonels claiming three of the next four points, EIU notched the win in the third to force a fourth.
 
The Panthers would have an easier time in the fourth for a futile win, as the Colonels rallied in the fifth for their first five-set win of the season. EKU entered Friday's match 0-4 in the category.
 
Junior Mallory Maxwell logged a match-high 26 digs, as Woody recorded her 12th double-double of the season.
 
Eastern Kentucky continues its weekend road trip, as it takes on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday. Saturday's match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. ET first serve.