Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team brought out the brooms on Saturday to sweep Eastern Illinois University.   
 
The Colonels won 27-25, 25-17 and 25-22.
 
Katelynn Caserma-Kloeble and Abby Noll paced the Colonel offense posting match-highs with 12 kills. Jovana Bulatovic chipped in nine kills of her own. Dena Tekavec led the way on the back line posting a match-best 28 digs.
 
Eastern used a hot start in the opening set jumping out to a 10-5 lead after back-to-back kills by Caserma-Kloeble. The Colonels took a six point lead, 15-9 after a service error by the Panthers but EIU did not go down quietly. The Panthers capped off a 4-0 run after a kill from Kylie Michael to tie the opening set at 19-19. The two teams traded points and the Colonels fought off two set points to tie the set at 25-25. EKU closed the set on a 3-0 run after a Rachel Woody kill to take the opening set 27-25.
 
"It was a great win after a tough loss last night," Fouch said. "I thought our pins did a great job at finding the open holes to score and our block was able to slow down their offense."
 
In set two, the two teams were all square at 8-8 after an EKU attack error. But, the Colonels took the lead using an 8-0 run capped off by a kill by Bulatovic to take a 16-8 lead in the set and not look back. EIU cut the Colonels lead to 21-15 after a kill by Katie Sommer that forced an EKU timeout. However, Eastern scored four of the last six points to take the set 25-17 and a 2-0 lead.
 
The Panthers used a quick start in the third stanza and jumped out to a 14-8 lead after an EKU error. However, the Colonels kept chipping away. Noll went for the hat trick with three straight kills to cut the Panther lead to 16-13 and force an EIU timeout. After the Panthers took a 19-15 lead in the set, the Colonels flexed their muscles running off six straight points to take a 21-19 lead. Eastern Illinois answered back with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the match at 22-22, but the Colonels scored the last three points of the match after back-to-back kills by Noll to complete the sweep.
 
"This win will hopefully give us the momentum that we need to finish the season strong," Fouch said.
 
Laurel Bailey led the way for the Panthers, posting a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.
 
Eastern hits the road next weekend with a trip to Nashville. The Colonels take on Belmont on Friday before taking on Tennessee State on Saturday. First serve against the Bruins is scheduled for 7 p.m.