Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- For the third consecutive match, Eastern Illinois volleyball had four different players nab double-digit kills, as the Panthers scratched past Ohio Valley Conference east division rival Jacksonville State in four sets (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18) on Friday (Nov. 2) evening.

The EIU win upped the squad's league mark to 6-7 and 9-19 overall.  With the win, along with losses by both JSU and UT Martin, the Panthers now tie for sixth place in the 12-squad OVC ranks, with the top eight squads battling for post-season tournament contention.

Senior Alison Berens led all players with 16 kills, tying her career mark in the process, while also pacing EIU with a team-high five blocks and two aces.  The middle hitter finished with a nice .400 attack click with just four miscues.

Juniors Reynae Hutchinson and Stephanie Arnold both added 14 kills via the outside and middle attack, respectively, with Hutchinson nabbing her 24th career double-double with the addition of 19 digs.  Arnold, meanwhile, had just one hitting error to register a .433 attack.

Freshman Abby Saalfrank chipped in 12 kills of her own on the right-side attack, while tying Arnold and classmate Marah Bradbury with three blocks each.

Bradbury ran the offense with 54 assists as EIU hit .277 for the match as the freshman also nailed seven kills of her own with zero errors for an impressive .583 attack.

In other defensive marks, freshman libero Stephanie Wallace upped 22 Gamecock attacks to earn top dig numbers on the court, as sophomores Kelsey Brooke and Dakota Springer nabbed 12 and 11 digs of their own, respectively, with Springer setting a new personal high in the process.

Team-wise, the Panthers dominated JSU (12-15/6-7) in nearly every stat category, including more than doubling the Gamecocks in overall attack (.277-to-.121) and aces (five-to-two).

EIU also led the host squad in kills (67-to-41), assists (63-to-33), digs (75-to-61), and points (80.0-to-52.0), while JSU barely out-paced the Panthers in blocks off a nine-to-eight advantage.

Jen Meyer was the lone Gamecock to hit in double-figures off 12 kills and recorded a team-best five stuffs at the net.  Libero Kelsey Anderson led her squad's defense with 21 digs, while setter Alina Agamy nabbed a duo-duo behind 30 assists and 12 digs.

Meeting for the 18th time, the match featured 17 ties and nine lead changes, as the Panthers won on the road at JSU for the second consecutive year to improve the all-time series with the Gamecocks to 4-14.

Panthers continue their final regular-season road swing tomorrow, traveling to Tennessee Tech for a 5 p.m. match in Cookeville, Tenn.  The Golden Eagles snapped their recent 12-match losing streak, and earned the squad's first OVC win of the season, with a four-set home win over SIU Edwardsville this evening to now own a 3-22 overall and 1-12 league record.

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