Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. -- Eastern Illinois volleyball opened Penn State Classic action with a three-set loss to Duquesne (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) on Friday evening as the Panthers dropped to 3-7 on the season.

Senior middle hitter Alison Berens paced the EIU offensie with a team-high 10 kills, three shy of her career mark, while also hitting .400 for the match while also registering four blocks.

Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson added eight kills and three blocks of her own, while freshman Marah Bradbury ran the EIU offense with 19 assists.

Sophomore Kelsey Brooke had a fine match, leading EIU with two aces and led the backrow defense with 11 digs, as she earned her first career start at libero in the third set.  Classmate Kelsey Roggemann, meanwhile, had a nice offensive run as she hit .625 behind five kills and zero errors.

Duquesne was led by Sara Scheirman's 11 kill, 10 dig double-double, with Allison Foschia leading all players on the court with 13 kills.  Defensively, Shelby Knopick had 15 digs and Ashley Buse was a force at the net with six blocks.

Panthers trailed the Dukes (9-4) in kills (44-to-35), attack (.358-to-.168), assists (42-to-31), aces (three-to-two), digs (44-to-36), blocks (nine-to-five), and points (56.0-to-42.0).

The match featured 13 ties and four lead changes, with most coming via the tight first set, as the two squads met for only the second time on the volleyball court.  With the DU win, the two teams are now an even 1-1 all-time.

EIU was down 17-11 in the opening set before going on a nice late-run to tie it at 21-all, before the Dukes were able to push past the Panthers for the close 25-23 opening victory.

An early tie at nine-all in the second frame would eventually push to a 19-12 DU advantage, but a Berens kill would end the Duquesne run, yet DU squad would eventually win the set, 25-17.

The final set also started with even play at five-all, but again the Dukes would use a run to enjoy the seven-point advantage en route to the 25-18 victory.

Panthers return to tourney play on Saturday (Sep. 15), with a noon contest against Portland, followed by the premiere match to finish the event as EIU will face the host, and #4-ranked, Penn State squad at 7 p.m.

Both EIU skipper Kate Price and assistant coach Ryan Sweitzer will make their first appearance on the sidelines against their respecitve alma mater.  Price earned an NCAA Championship at PSU back in 2007, while Sweitzer was a member of the Nittany Lion men's squad that won that also won the national title in 2008.

The #4-PSU team marks the highest ranked opponent that the Panthers have played since the 2001 EIU squad also battled the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Regional.

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