Box Score
Photo Gallery (Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Five different Panthers earned double-digit kills, but it wasn't enough as Eastern Illinois volleyball lost a tough five-set thriller (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11) to Ohio Valley Conference newcomer Belmont on Friday night, to finish the regular-season schedule.

Panthers finish 8-8 in the league for a sixth place standing in next week's league tournament, while overall EIU fell to 11-20 on the season.  The .500 conference mark is the best EIU finish in league play since 2005, which also marked the last time that the Panthers advanced to the end-of-season OVC tourney.

Seniors Alison Berens and Emily Franklin made the most of their their final play in Lantz Arena, as the duo led EIU with 17 and 15 kills via the middle and outside attack, respectively.  The 17 put-downs for Berens sets a new career high, while she led all players on the court with a .467 attack clip.  Franklin also hit a nice .333 for the contest.

Freshman Abby Saalfrank added 12 kills off a .348 attack,, while juniors Stephanie Arnold and Reynae Hutchinson chipped in 11 put-downs of their own.

Newcomer Marah Bradbury obviously shared the ball with a variety of hitters as she dished out a new career-high 58 assists, as the Panthers actually out-hit the Bruins, .257 to .234.

Defensively, a trio of back court players upped double-digit attacks, led by freshman libero Stephanie Wallace's 23 digs, while sophomore Dakota Springer set a new personal high with 16 and classmate Kelsey Brooke added 10 additional digs.  EIU also out-dug Belmont, 76-to-57 for the match.

In net defense, Hutchinson and Arnold both finished with five blocks, as the Panthers were just barely out-blocked by the Bruins, ten-to-nine.

Belmont (15-15/11-5) secured the third seed in the upcoming league tourney as Jen Myer led a foursome of players with 17 kills.  Jocelyn Youngdahl nabbed a 13-kill, 11-dig double-double, while Allison McCoy and Alex Martin finished with 12 and 11 put-a-ways, respectively.  Youngdahl, Myer and Martin all hit over .300 for the contest, with McCoy and Myer earning five blocks.  Libero Jamie Lundstrom not only led the service game with three aces, but also paced the Bruin back row with 17 digs, while Scarlet Gable added 12 additional digs.

Meeting for the first time ever on the volleyball court, the match featured 16 ties and seven lead changes, as the match will be a preview of next week's premiere first round match in the OVC Tournament, as Belmont secured the third seed and the Panthers enter as the sixth ranked squad.

The opening set had the visiting squad hold on for a tight 25-21 win, despite the Panthers being able to battle for three ties.

EIU countered in the second frame, jumping out to a 13-8 lead after a previous 5-all tie.  Belmont would get no closer than three points as the Panthers held on for the 25-19 win to knot the match at a set apiece.

The Bruins enjoyed an early 3-0 lead in the third set, eventually extending their advantage to 9-3, but six consecutive Panther points would make things interesting, yet the visitors would pull ahead again to maintain the lead for the 25-22 victory to go up 2-1 in the contest.

The fourth set started close with both squads battling to a 5-all tie, but the Panthers scratched ahead at 14-9 following a Belmont timeout.  Like the previous set for the Bruins, EIU would hold on for the win at 25-19, forcing a fifth and deciding frame.

An early 4-1 lead by Belmont evaporated as the Panthers turned the momentum around to tie it 4-all, 5-all, and 6-all, but the Bruins would get the all-important eighth point first as the teams exchanged sides of the court.  From that point on, Belmont would hold onto the lead, eventually going on a 5-3 run to force an Eastern timeout.  An Emily Franklin kill would pull EIU to within 13-11, but consecutive McCoy put-downs would allow the visitors to escape with the hard-fought 15-11 win.

The two teams will face off yet again as the #6-Panthers and #3-Bruins return to the court next Thursday (Nov. 15) for a 10 a.m. (CST) match to open the 2012 OVC Tournament in Morehead, Ky.  All tourney action will be carried live by the OVC digital network (www.OVCsports.com), with live stats also available for fans to follow.

Prior to the match, EIU honored three seniors -- Alison Berens, Emily Franklin and Kat Gosewisch -- for their contributions to the Panther volleyball program.

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