Box Score
Photo Gallery (Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Down two-sets to none, the Eastern Illinois volleyball squad clawed back to push Ohio Valley Conference favorite Morehead State to the limit, but the Panthers fell in a five-set heartbreaker (25-22, 25-13, 22-25, 22-25, 15-12) at home on Friday evening.

The tough loss drops EIU to 3-15 overall and 0-5 in league play, while the Eagles, who compete in the east division of the OVC, improved to 13-6 and 5-0

Freshman outside hitter Abby Saalfrank paced a trio of Panthers with double-digit kills as she nailed a personal high 17 kills and added 14 digs for her first career double-double.

Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson added 15 kills and a team-best .283 attack, while senior middle Alison Berens chipped in 10 kills.  Berens led all players in net defense with six block assists and she tied sophomore Kelsey Brooke with a pair of aces.

Setter Marah Bradbury dished out a career-high 54 assists and upped 10 MOR attacks to secure her third  assist-dig duo-duo of her freshman campaign.

Junior Stephanie Arnold tallied four solo stuffs while Brooke led all Panthers with 17 digs in the back court.  Freshman Stephanie Wallace added 13 digs of her own.

Morehead State was led by Ellie Roberson's 23 kills and .349 attack, while Laura McDermott and Aryn Bohannon each added 11 put-a-ways as well.  Annie Gruenschlaeger, meanwhile, enjoyed a .474 attack clip with nine kills and zero errors, while she also led all playes with three aces.  Libero Leslie Schellhaas finished with 26 digs to lead all players on the court.

Meeting for the 31st time during the Division I era, the two squads battled through 25 ties and eight lead changes as the visitors enjoyed had set point to open the first frame up 24-12, but that's when the Panthers went on a tear to make the defending league champions sweat it out as EIU erupted for 10 straight points, forcing consecutive Eagle timeouts.  Eastern pulled to within 24-22 before the Eagles survived for the 25-22 win.

The second frame started tied with a 6-all tie, but a 6-0 run would help MOR pull ahead, eventually taking the set 25-13 to enjoy a 2-0 lead in the match.

Sets number three and four went to EIU as the each frame went nearly point-for-point before the Panthers used a 4-1 late-set run to extend the match with the 25-22 victory.  The fourth frame was a carbon copy up to 18-all, but a kill by Bradbury and an Eagle miscue would give the Panthers the two-point cushion, which they would enjoy all the way to the 25-22 win yet again.

The deciding frame had the Eagles up 3-1, but a Berens put-down and another MOR error would even it at 3-all.  However, the visitors would counter for a 10-7 lead, but not before the Panthers pulled to within 12-10.  Yet the league leaders of MOR would take advantage of a late 3-2 to survive the scare for the 15-12 victory.

Team stats were pretty even except for aces and blocks, as the Eagles out-served EIU, 11-7, in aces, but the Panthers nearly doubled MOR in net defense via a 11.0-to-six block advantage.  MOR just out-paced Eastern in kills (66-to-61), attack (.246-to-.235), assists (64-to-59), digs (71-to-68), and points (83.0-to-79.0).

Tonight's matchup marks the lone regular-season meeting between Eastern and Morehead State, as the Panthers compete in the OVC west division and the Eagles are members of the east side of the conference division.

EIU returns to the court tomorrow afternoon as the Panthers will host Eastern Kentucky, who lost a three-set match at SIU Edwardsville tonight, with first serve set for 2 p.m. at Lantz Arena.

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