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| EASTERN ILLINOIS at AUSTIN PEAY & MURRAY STATE |
| Week Details | at APSU | 6 p.m. | Fri., Oct. 24, 2014 | Dunn Center | Clarksville, Tenn. |
| at MUR | 11 a.m. | Sat., Oct. 25, 2014 | Racer Arena | Murray, Ky. |
| Match Coverage | Twitter | Facebook |
| EIU Panther info | Website | 9-12 Overall | 3-5 OVC |
|   APSU info | Website | 11-13 Overall | 5-3 OVC | Live Stats | Live Video |
|   MUR info | Website | 16-4 Overall | 7-1 OVC | Live Stats | Live Video |
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Pre-Weekend Notes (PDF)
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois volleyball will end the squad's four-match road swing this weekend, as the Panthers continue Ohio Valley Conference action with rematches against Austin Peay and Murray State at 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. on Friday (Oct. 24) and Saturday (Oct. 25), respectively.
At the mid-way point of the league slate, EIU enters the weekend at 9-12 overall and 3-5 in the OVC, as the Panthers sit all alone in eighth place in the conference standings.
The Lady Govs and Racers sport respective 11-13/5-3 and 16-4/7-1 marks to rank in fifth and first place in the OVC.
Live stats of both weekend matches will be available via each opponent's website, while live streaming may also be made available through the OVC Digital Network.
PANTHER QUICK SETS
•   At the mid-way point of the OVC schedule, the Panthers are 3-5 and sit in eighth place in the league standings, while sporting a 9-12 overall mark.
•   Panthers have been unable to win three consecutive matches since they won a trio of contests from August 30 to September 5.
•   Quick look at EIU team stats has the Panthers continuing to lead their opposition in total kills, attacks, assists, aces, digs, and points, while only trailing in attack % and blocks.
•   Juniors Chelsea Lee and Abby Saalfrank continue to pace all Panthers off respective 291 (3.34 kps) and 280 (3.22 kps) kill numbers as both also lead the squad in points via respective 311.0 and 318.5 marks.
•   Newcomer Allie Hueston owns the net defense with 73 total blocks, including nine solos and 64 assisted stuffs.  She's also ties Saalfrank with 16 aces to rank second on the squad, while hitting .239 on the season with 163 kills.
•   Redshirt-freshman Josie Winner currently leads all full-time EIU hitters with a .265 clip as she has 123 put-downs on the season.
•   Junior setter Marah Bradbury has dished out 933 assists this season (10.72 aps) which ranks second in the OVC.
•   Fellow junior Stephanie Wallace continues to lead the backcourt defense with 383 digs (4.40), as she became the 26th Panther in school history to notch over 1,000 career digs earlier this season.  She currently ranks fourth in the OVC for digs-per-set.
•   Individually, seven different EIU players continue to rank in the statistical OVC Top 10 in a variety of stat categories, led by Bradbury's second place tally for assists-per-set.  Chelsea Lee and Stephanie Wallace follow with respective third and fourth place marks for kills and digs.  In OVC-only action, RS-freshman Josie Winner and senior Dakota Springer both rank fourth in attack and aces, respectively.  Allie Hueston also owns the fifth best block tally for league-only play.
•   Team-wise, Eastern ranks second for overall assists and kills for the season and in OVC-only action, while also ranking second for aces in league-only matchups.
•   Early last month (on Sep. 8), the Panthers earned a pair of OVC Weekly Accolades, as Saalfrank and Wallace nabbed respective 'Offensive' and 'Co-Defense Players of the Week'.  Both honors were career firsts for the junior pair.
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
•   In individual match-by-match high numbers this season, Lee has led the squad in kills in 11 contests and in points nine times, while Saalfrank has paced all servers in eight matches.  In digs, Wallace has upped the most attacks 20 times, while Hueston has led the net defense in 15 contests.
•   Lee's 28 kills vs. DePaul back in late September is the most by a Panther this season, while Allie Hueston's .619 attack vs. East Carolina not only ranks as the top clip this season, but also set a new school record for a five-set contest.
•   Bradbury dished out a season-best 63 assists in the road five-set loss at JSU, while also tying the single-match ace tally with three unreturnable serves versus the same Gamecock squad.
•   Lee also owns the top point tally of 29.5 in EIU's neutral site victory over the Blue Demons of DePaul.
DEFENSIVE ACCOLADES
•   Wallace paces all Panthers with 383 digs this season, which included a new career-high 31 ups during EIU's win over DePaul at the Penn State Classic.  That performance helped her earn a spot on the Panthers' career 1,000-Dig club.
•   At the net, Hueston leads the way with 73 total blocks, including 64 assisted and nine solo stuffs.  She roofed a season-best seven Leatherneck attacks as EIU downed WIU at their own tourney earlier this season.  Saalfrank and Lee follow with respective 41 and 35 blocks of their own.
RE-SCOUTING THE LADY GOVS
•   Senior Jada Stotts continues to pace all APSU players with 333 total kills (3.78 kps), while hitting .222 and leading the way defensively with 313 digs (3.56).  She also sports 32 blocks and sports the top team serve with 25 aces.
•   RS-sophomore Sammie Ebright follows with 170 kills (2.00 kps) and a .211 attack, while senior Hillary Plybon owns the top attack of full-time Lady Gov hitters at .235.
•   Defensively, newcomer Ashley Slay's 39 blocks leads her squad, while senior Liz Landon is a close second with 37 roofs.  In the back court, junior April Adams has upped 194 opponent attacks as the starting libero.
•   Junior setter Aubrey Marsellis has dished out 756 assists as the Govs are hitting .202 on the season.  She also has chipped in 23 additional aces with her tough serve.
•   Team-wise, APSU leads their opponents in kills, assists, aces, and digs this season, while coming up short in attack, blocks, and points.  The Lady Govs are undefeated at home in OVC play, having won their first four home matches in conference action.
•   Two weeks ago the Panthers earned a hard-fought five-set home win over the previous co-leaders in the OVC.  That win marked the fourth consecutive victory over APSU, as Eastern now enjoys a 20-17 all-time Division I series lead over the Lady Govs.  APSU holds a slight 10-7 lead over EIU when playing down in Clarksville, Tenn., however.
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE RACERS
•   One of the hottest teams in the OVC right now, the Racers of Murray State sit all alone in first place in the conference at 7-1 and 16-4 overall.  They ride a five-match win streak prior to hosting SIU Edwardsville this Friday evening.
•   Sophomore Scottie Ingram continues to lead her squad in kills with 242 (3.67 kps), as the three-time OVC 'Player of the Week' honoree also owns a .295 attack.  She sports a league-best marks in both kills and points for OVC-only play.
•   Junior Taylor Olden and sophomore Kristen Besselsen follow with respetive 208 and 196 kill numbers, while junior setter Sam Bedard has 731 assists and owns the top serve with 20 aces.
•   Defensively, fellow junior Alyssa Lelm's 52 total blocks paces her squad, while sophomore Ellie Lorenz's 336 digs leads her team's back court.
•   Team-wise, the Racers lead their opposition in  nearly ever stat category, including kills, attack, assists, aces, and digs, while just barely trailing in overall blocks.  Murray has only played three matches at home and have yet to lose on their home court this season.
•   Despite dropping a tough four-set home match to Murray State a couple of weeks ago, the Panthers still own a 23-18 all-time DI series lead over the Racers.  MUR did snap a four-match Eastern win streak with their recent win over the Panthers, however.
MISCELLANEOUS STAT NUMBERS
•   Eastern owns an 8-1 mark when winning the second set of the match and are 7-1 on the year when also leading their opponents in hitting % this season.  Also, the Panthers are 8-2 overall when they can hold their opponents to a hitting % below .200.
•   The 92 digs in EIU's five-set thrilling win over APSU on Oct. 11 marked a season-high for the Panthers.
•   Panthers have registered 13 team blocks in two matches this season, the first at WIU and against against DePaul, as EIU earned wins in both contests.
•   In Eastern's four-set home-opening win over instate rival SIUE back on Oct. 1, the Panthers hit a season-best .358, which included zero miscues in the opening set victory.
PANTHERS BACK AT HOME NEXT WEEK
•   Next weekend, Eastern returns home to begin their final four-match regular-season home swing, as the Panthers are set for rematches versus Southeast Missouri and UT Martin on Friday (Oct. 31) and Saturday (Nov. 1), with first serves scheduled for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
EYE ON THE REST OF THE OVC
•   At the mid-way point in the OVC slate, the Racers of Murray State sit all alone in first place with a 7-1 mark.
•   A trio of teams -- Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Belmont -- all own 6-2 records to tie for second place.
•   EIU's Friday opponent, Austin Peay, currently ties Tennessee Tech at 5-3 as both vie for fifth place in the league standings.
•   After downing the Panthers last weekend, the Redhawks of SEMO sit all alone in seventh place at an even 4-4 on the league season, while EIU follows in eighth place at 3-5.
•   UT Martin and Tennessee State both tie for ninth place at 3-6, while SIU Edwardsville has just one victory to sit at 1-7 and in 11th place.
•   The biggest surprise of the season has to be the 0-22 start of perrenial OVC power Morehead State.  The four-time defending conference champs were actually picked to repeat as the league champions during the preseason this year, yet are currently in the midst of their worst season in school history.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
