CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois volleyball continues early-season tournament play this weekend as the Panthers will compete in the five-team South Dakota State Challenge up in Brookings, S.D. EIU opens play versus Iowa on Friday (Sep. 12) morning, before facing the host Jackrabbits and North Dakota on Saturday (Sep. 13) afternoon. Florida International will also partake in the event, but are not scheduled to play the Panthers.
Coming off their second consecutive runner-up finish at last weekend's WIU Leatherneck Invitational, the Panthers own a 4-2 overall mark, which included recent wins over the host Leathernecks and UTEP, as well as a tough four-set defeat to eventual tourney champion Saint Louis.
Live stats and video (for a fee) of all weekend play will be available via the SDSU website (links above). Fans are encouraged to utilize the SDSU Challenge Central site for up-to-date info and links.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
... all times central
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
North Dakota at South Dakota State ... 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
EIU vs. Iowa ... 10 a.m.
Florida International vs. North Dakota ... Noon
Iowa vs. North Dakota ... 5 p.m.
Florida International at South Dakota State ... 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Florida International vs. Iowa ... 10 a.m.
EIU at South Dakota State ... Noon
EIU vs. North Dakota ... 5 p.m.
Iowa at South Dakota State ... 7 p.m.
PANTHER QUICK SETS
• This weekend's SDSU Challenge is the third of four consecutive early-season tournaments for the Panthers this season. The first 13 matches of the year will also be EIU's lone non-OVC matchups this fall, with the league slate to begin in late September and run through November.
• Panthers will not play at home until Wednesday, October 1 as EIU is set to entertain cross-state OVC arch-rival SIU Edwardsville at 6 p.m.
• Last weekend, EIU picked up their second consecutive tourney runner-up honor as Allie Hueston (MH) and Abby Saalfrank (RS/S) represented the Panthers on the All-Tourney squad.
• With two full weekends of play in the books, the Panthers currently lead the entire OVC in team assists (13.00 aps) and digs (16.36 dps), while also ranking second for kills (13.64 kps).
• Individually, the junior duo of Abby Saalfrank and Stephanie Wallace pace the entire league in respective kills (3.92 kps) and points (4.48 pps) for Saalfrank, and digs (4.40 dps) for Wallace. Junior setter Marah Bradbury also ranks in OVC Top 10 for assists (2nd/10.64 aps) and hitting % (8th/.333).
• Picked to finish as regular-season runner ups in the preseason OVC poll, the Panthers went 18-12 overall and captured the West Division title off a 12-4 league mark in 2013. However, this year there will no longer be an East/West Division in the OVC, just straight-up 12-team standings.
• Eastern secured five first place votes in the preseason poll by league head coaches and SIDs, to sit behind defending champ Morehead State in the predicted order of finish for this year. Juniors Marah Bradbury and Chelsea Lee represented EIU on the Preseason All-OVC squad as well.
PROBABLE EIU STARTERS (tentative & subject to change)
• Abby Saalfrank … Jr/RS … 98 Kills … .219 Att. … 7 Aces … 76 Digs … 13 Total Blocks … 112.0 Points
• Dakota Springer … Sr/DS … 72 Digs … 4 Aces … 14 Assists
• Allie Hueston … Fr/MH … 41 Kills … .202 Att. … 3 Aces … 22 Total Blocks
• Marah Bradbury … Jr/S … 266 Assists … 32 Kills … .333 Att. … 3 Aces … 55 Digs
• Kelsey Roggemann … Sr/MB … 14 Kills … .106 Att. … 10 Total Blocks
• Maria Brown … Fr/OH … 53 Kills … .134 Att. … 57.0 Points
• Stephanie Wallace … Jr/L … 110 Digs … 29 Assists … 2 Aces
Off the bench:
• Kelsey Brooke … R-Sr/DS … 38 Digs … 5 Aces
• Chelsea Lee … Jr/OH-MB … 69 Kills … .201 Att. … 13 Total Blocks … 77.0 Points
LOOKING AT THE EIU PANTHERS
• Junior Abby Saalfrank continues to lead the squad with 98 kills, seven aces and 112 points in the early going. This past weekend at the WIU Invite, she garnered three consecutive kill-dig double-doubles, including a new career highs with 25 kills and 27 points in the five-set win over the host Leathernecks. Her outstanding week play not only helped her nab All-Tourney kudos, but also her first career OVC 'Offensive Player of the Week' award. The right-side attacker currently paces the entire OVC in kills (3.92 kps) and points (4.48 pps), while ranking 34th in the entire nation for total kills (98).
• Junior setter Marah Bradbury, who earned Preseason All-OVC honors after nabbing league honors last fall, has 266 total assists thus far this season, which ranks No. 2 in the OVC and 39th overall in the entire NCAA. She sports 24 all-time assist-dig double-doubles. Her .333 attack also ranks in the OVC Top 10.
• Junior outside Chelsea Lee, who was also tabbed to the Preseason All-OVC unit and earned Ball State Challenge All-Tourney honors, sits in second place on the squad with 69 put-downs and 77 points. She ties Abby Saalfrank with 13 blocks as well.
• Defensively, junior Stephanie Wallace paces the back row defense with 110 digs and owns the best dig-per-set mark (4.40 dps) in the OVC. She upped double-digit attack numbers last weekend to secure her career first OVC 'Co-Defensive Player of the Week' honor. While at the net, newcomer Allie Hueston's 22 total blocks, including 19 assisted stuff, continues to lead the Panther unit.
• Team-wise, the Panthers hold the advantage over the competition in kills, attack, assists, digs, and points, yet trail in overall blocks while tying in aces.
SCOUTING THE WEEKEND COMPETITION
• Panthers are a combined 2-3 versus the weekend competition.
• IOWA enters the weekend at 4-2 overall after having a four-match win streak snapped with a three-set loss at #17-Arizona State last weekend. Senior Alex Lovell leads the Hawkeyes with 74 kills (3.70 kps) off a .205 attack. Newcomer Jess Janota follows with 52 kills, a .209 clip and 18 blocks. Senior Alessandra Dietz and freshman Taylin Alm are hitting .372 and .468, respectively, with Dietz pacing her squad at the net with 25 total roofs. A pair of Iowa setters – sophomore Alyssa Klostermann and freshman Kaylee Smith – are running a 6-2 offensive scheme and have combined for 16 total aces, while freshman libero Michelle Fugarino leads Iowa with 83 digs. Iowa leads their season opponents in every statistical category this season. The Hawkeyes, under first year head coach Bond Shymansky, lead the Panthers in the all-time series history, 3-1, with the lone EIU win coming back in 1982 via a two set victory. The two teams last met in 2012 as EIU fell in a four-set affair.
• The host SOUTH DAKOTA STATE squad sports a 3-4 overall record as the Jackrabbits have lost three consecutive home matches at their most recent home tourney. Newcomer Ashley Beaner leads her team with 60 kills and a .265 attack, followed by sophomore Tiara Gibson with 53 put-downs, a .246 clip, and 19 blocks of her own. Junior Wagner Larson has made her presence known at the net with a team-best 23 stuffs and a .248 attack, and also owns a tough serve with nine aces. SDSU also employs the 6-2 offense with two full-time setters via sophomore Brooke Leetham and freshman Jessi Henter, as junior Alanna Pengilly has tallied 80 digs. SDSU only leads their opponents in digs and blocks thus far this year. Phil McDaniel enters his fourth season as skipper of the Jackrabbits, who trail the Panthers in the all-time series off last season's lone meeting, as EIU earned a four-set victory.
• NORTH DAKOTA comes into the weekend with a 6-3 overall mark, as they also had a recent five-match win streak snapped on Tuesday. Senior Lexi Robinson paces her squad with 109 kills, a .203 attack, six aces, 94 digs, and 18 blocks. Newcomer Faith Dooley and sophomore Chelsea Moser follow with 80 and 63 kills, respectively, as Dooley owns the net with 48 total blocks. Senior Nikki Husfeldt runs the offense off 348 total assists and ranks second in the serve game with five aces. Junior Hart McKenzie leads the back court defense off 161 digs and has added four aces. UND currently leads their competition in only attack % and blocks this season. This weekend will mark the first time that North Dakota and EIU will have met on the volleyball court.
SAALFRANK & WALLACE NAB WEEKLY OVC HONORS
• EIU juniors Abby Saalfrank and Stephanie Wallace earned respective OVC 'Offensive' and 'Co-Defensive Players of the Week' kudos as announced by the league office this past Monday (Sep. 8). The pair of weekly awards are both career firsts for the Panther duo.
COMING UP NEXT WEEK
• Next Friday and Saturday (Sep. 19-20) the Panthers will conclude non-league tournament action, as EIU travels to Happy Valley, Penn., to compete in the two-day Penn State Alumni Classic. EIU will take-on East Carolina and the defending national champion Nittany Lions on Friday, before facing instate rivals DePaul and Illinois-Chicago on Saturday. All four visiting teams competing in the classic are coached by former Penn State players who played under PSU's Russ Rose.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
