Tweet #EIUBleedBlue

2014 OVC Volleyball Tournament Field Set

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite having five different Panthers with double-digit kills, the Eastern Illinois volleyball squad dropped a tough five-set affair (22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12) at Tennessee State on Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon to finish the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season with an even 8-8 record and 14-15 overall.

The loss snapped EIU's recent four-match win streak, as the host Tigers finish their campaign at 10-21/4-12, as TSU had already been eliminated from post-season tourney consideration.  The Panthers, meanwhile, finish the regular-season tied for sixth place with Austin Peay, yet earn the #6-Seed at the tourney thanks to earning both wins over the Lady Govs this year.

Junior Abby Saalfrank led all Panthers with 17 kills and added 10 digs to nab her 14th career double-double.  Classmate Marah Bradbury added her own duo-duo thanks to a 62 assist, 10 dig performance, as she upped her career double-double mark to 32 all-time.  Bradbury also led the net defense with three blocks. Those two Panthers are also the reigning OVC 'Player of the Week' and 'Setter of the Week'.

Fellow junior Chelsea Lee added 15 kills, while redshirt-freshman Josie Winner tallied 14 put-downs behind a .333 attack.  Newcomer Allie Hueston's .444 attack led al players on the court as she added 13 kills and finished with three aces.  Another junior, Kayla Nesbitt, finished with an additional 12 kills.

Junior Stephanie Wallace led the back row defense with 22 digs with seniors Kelsey Brooke and Dakota Springer upping respective 14 and 11 TSU attacks of their own.

Meeting for the 33rd time, TSU has now won eight of the last 15 matchups over the Panthers yet EIU still holds a sizeable 25-8 DI advantage.

TSU had four Tigers finish with double-digit kills as well, led by senior Naomi Wells' 23 put-downs off a .298 attack.  She also added 19 digs for her duo-duo performance in last match of her TSU career.  Freshman setter Samantha Beltran garnered her own 58/13 assist/dig double-double, leading the Tigers to a .262 attack.

Team-wise, EIU finished ahead of the Tigers in total kills, assists, and aces.  Both squads finished with 79 digs, while TSU also lead the blocking game.

Next week's OVC Tournament action will be held at regular-season champ Murray State, as the Racers clinched their first regular-season title earlier in the week.

The top eight squads in the final league standings advance to the three-day event, with the eventual winner to represent the OVC in NCAA Regional play.  The Panthers will open the busy Thursday (Nov. 20) action as the #6-EIU squad will have a rematch of last year's opening match versus #3-Eastern Kentucky at 10 a.m.

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