Box Score MARTIN, Tenn. – Juniors
Chelsea Lee and
Abby Saalfrank delivered respective 17 and 12 kill performances to lead Eastern Illinois volleyball to a four-set Ohio Valley Conference win at UT Martin (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23) on Friday (Oct. 17) evening.
The Panthers move to 9-11 overall and 3-4 in OVC play as Eastern earned their first road league win of the early season. The Skyhawks, who entered the match tied with EIU in seventh place in the conference standings, dropped to 9-12/2-5.
Freshmen
Maria Brown and
Josie Winner each chipped in eight additional kills as Winner led the attack with a .375 clip. Brown, meanwhile, had a fine service game as she fired off four aces in the victory.
Junior setter
Marah Bradbury dished out 44 assists and came one dig shy of a double-double, as she helped the Panther hit .169 for the contest.
Defensively, newcomer
Allie Hueston's six blocks led all players on the court, while Bradbury stuffed three of her own.
Junior libero
Stephanie Wallace upped a game-high 17 UTM attacks, while seniors
Kelsey Brooke and
Dakota Springer registered respective 11 and 12 digs of their own.
The match featured 18 ties and six lead changes as the Panthers up their all-time series advantage over the Skyhawks to 24-15 and 12-8 overall when playing in Martin, Tenn.
Eastern held the advantage over the host squad in kills, attacks, assists, digs, and points, while UTM just barely led the Panthers in attack and block. Both squads tallied eight aces apiece.
The Skyhawks were led by senior Emily Keaton's 10 put-downs and Chelsea Bowles' 16 digs, while Julia Devinney led the way at the net with five blocks.
Panthers return to the court tomorrow as Eastern continues their four-match road swing at Southeast Missouri, who swept fellow league rival SIU Edwardsville earlier in the evening. Â The EIU/SEMO first serve is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday in Cape Girardeau.Â
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
