Box Score

MARQUETTE, Wis. -- Eastern Illinois volleyball fell to the host Golden Eagles in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-20) on Friday morning, to open Marquette Classic play.  The loss drops the Panthers to 2-5 on the early season.

Sophomore  Kelsey Roggemann led all Panthers with six kills and a .312 attack, followed by five kills each from senior Alison Berens and junior Reynae Hutchinson.

Freshman libero Stephanie Wallace led Eastern with 10 digs, while Berens and junior Stephanie Arnold each finished with two blocks apiece in net defense.

Marquette (5-1) was led by Erin Lehman's 11 kills, followed by nine put-a-ways from Lindsey Gosh.  Danielle Carlson, meanwhile, had a team-high five stuffs.

Team-wise, MU led EIU in hitting (.329 to .028), kills (39-to-28), assists (35-to-24), digs (42-to-30), and blocks (10-to-seven), while the Panthers topped the Golden Eagles in aces (three-to-one).

The opening set started pretty even, but an 8-2 run by the host squad would give them the advantage, forcing EIU to burn both timeouts as they eventually trailed 17-9.  After a couple of nice EIU plays, including a deep court kill by Stephanie Arnold and a Panther block, MU would earn the 20th point first, up 20-12.  But a 6-0 run would help the Golden Eagles the first set, 25-12.  EIU hit zero in the frame as compared to a blistering .412 by the home squad, while blocks were even at two apiece.

After classic side-out play to start set two, a 5-0 Marquette run gave the host team a 11-6 cushion lead.  Yet a nice cross-court kill from Reynae Hutchinson followed by an ace by Marah Bradbury helped EIU counter the run.  However, MU maintained a five-or-six point advantage to lead 22-16, but serving miscues and a Panther block would keep EIU within striking distance down just 23-19.  An eventual EIU error and MU's own block would give the Golden Eagles the two-set lead off the 25-19 win.  EIU once again hit .000 for the set, led by Kelsey Roggemann's errorless attack off three kills.

As in the first two sets, MU would go on a multi-point run following an early tie score to eventually lead, 19-12.  But EIU would counter with a couple of runs of their own to cut the lead to 23-19.  However, the host squad would use the outside attack to eventually hold on for the 25-20 win and earn the morning sweep of the Panthers.

The MU win marks only the second Golden Eagle victory over the Panthers in the 12th all-time DI meeting between the two squads.

Eastern will return to the court this evening to continue Marquette Classic action as the Panthers will face Wake Forest at 5 p.m.

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