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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Austin Peay swept Eastern Illinois volleyball Friday evening, and in the process snapped a six-match losing streak to the Panthers.  The Lady Govs picked up the Ohio Valley Conference victory (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) at EIU's Lantz Arena.

The sweep was the Panthers 11th straight loss in that fashion this season, continuing a dubious streak that began back in early September.  Eastern falls to 3-14 overall and 0-7 in league play.

Leading the home squad was sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Orr and freshman middle Melanie Boykins, as each notched seven kills each.  Orr added four block assists as well.  Sophomore Alex Zwettler added five kills of her own, while defensively, EIU was led by junior libero Shaina Boylan's 15 ups in the back row.  

A quick look at the team stats shows that the Panthers actually out-blocked the Lady Govs (13-6/5-2) six to three, unfortunately Peay led the remaining statistical numbers, including kills (47 to 31), hitting percentage (.257 to .144), assists (44 to 30), service aces (four to two), and digs (55 to 38).

Junior transfer Stephanie Champine and sophomore Jessica Mollman both led the Austin Peay unit with 11 kills apiece, with Mollman hitting a blistering .588 on the night.  Champine also tallied a double-double with an additional 10 digs to her credit.  Junior Kirstin Distler also notched a duo-duo behind identical 10 kills and digs.  Meanwhile, senior libero Caroline Frens led all players on the court with 18 digs.

The Panthers will look to snap the lengthly losing streak on Saturday afternoon when the squad hosts OVC foe Tennessee State, with first serve set for 2 p.m.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID