Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Eastern Illinois volleyball finished with a 2-1 weekend mark to earn runner-up team honors at the Drake Invitational, as the Panthers swept the host squad (25-16, 25-19, 25-14), but fell to tourney champ DePaul in a four-set set-back (15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15) on Saturday (Sep. 7).

The Panthers now sit at 3-4 overall on the early-season.

In the afternoon sweep of the host Drake squad, sophomore Chelsea Lee and senior Reynae Hutchinson led the Panther outside attack via respective 14 and 10 kill totals, while Lee also hit .462 in the contest.

Sophomore Abby Saalfrank added nine kills on the right side as classmate Marah Bradbury dished out 36 assists and led her squad with two aces and a .625 attack with zero errors.

Defensively, junior libero Dakota Springer had another fine performance in the backcourt thanks to a new career-high 19 digs, while senior Stephanie Arnold paced the Panther net defense with four blocks in addition to eight put-downs.

The Panthers completely dominated the invite hosts in nearly every statistical category, including leading in kills (54-to-32), attack (.371-to-.181), assists (44-to-30), aces (four-to-one), digs (50-to-38), and points (63.0-to-38.0).  Both teams recorded five blocks apiece.

The match marked the 15th meeting between the Panthers and Bulldogs as EIU now owns a 9-6 all-time series lead as the contest featured just three ties and two lead changes as Eastern controlled the match from nearly start to finish.

Unfortunately the Panther momentum would come to a halt in the official championship match of the weekend as EIU fell to eventual title winner DePaul in a four-set contest.

The Panthers jumped out to a dominating 25-15 first set win thanks to a .556 team attack with zero errors.  That set was followed by a tight 25-23 affair that could have gone either way.

But the Blue Demons then exploded with consecutive hot-hitting sets and held onto the momentum to earn the come-from-behind win and stay undefeated at 6-0 on the season, as EIU committed 28 errors in the final three sets, as half came via unforced miscues.

Hutchinson would be the lone Panther to earn double-digit kills in the loss, with Lee coming just short with nine kills.

Arnold chipped in nine additional put-a-ways and roofed four DePaul attack to again lead EIU at the net, as Springer secured 11 additional digs in additional defensive EIU stat numbers.

A trio of Blue Demons nailed 10-or-more kills, led by Vesala Zapryanova's 17 shots and impressive .652 attack clip.  Natalie Rizzo tallied seven total blocks while libero Allyson Rooks upped 19 EIU attacks.

EIU trailed DePaul in kills (42-to-52), attack (.118-to-.355), assists (33-to-49), aces (four-to-five), and digs (34-to-42).  Meanwhile, the stat of the match was total blocks as DePaul out-stuffed EIU, 14.0-to-five.

Despite the tough loss to the Blue Demons, the Panthers still enjoy a sizeable 19-6 all-time series advantage, having actually won eight of the last ten matchups.

A pair of EIU players earned all-tournament recognition as Arnold and Lee each represented the Panthers, with Arnold earning her second consecutive tourney honor this season.

The Panthers will now prepare for the squad's third consecutive early-season tournament slate next weekend, traveling to Kansas City, Missouri to compete in the two-day, four-team UMKC Kangaroo Klassic.

On Friday, (Sep. 13), Eastern will face Wake Forest and the host Kangaroos, before taking on Presbyterian the following Saturday morning.

DRAKE INVITE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Stephanie Arnold ... Eastern Illinois
Wagner Larson ... South Dakota State
Randi Leath ... DePaul
Chelsea Lee ... Eastern Illinois
Amanda Platte - Drake
Natalie Rizzo ... DePaul
Vesela Zapryanova ... DePaul (MVP)

FINAL TOURNEY TEAM STANDINGS
DePaul ... 3-0
Eastern Illinois ... 2-1
South Dakota State ... 1-2
Drake ... 0-3
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... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID