MURRAY, Ky. – The Eastern Illinois Panthers volleyball team showed a strong effort throughout their first-round contest in the OVC Tournament against Tennessee Tech, but saw their season come to an end in a five-set affair 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 14-16). The Panthers end the year 16-15 overall and had an 11-6 record in conference matches (including the loss to Tennessee Tech in the OVC Tournament).
The Golden Eagles were a step ahead of the Panthers to begin the first set, as back-to-back aces by Tennessee Tech's Cody Dodd gave TTU an early 6-3 advantage. The Panthers would rally back to within a score on a pair of occasions, but were finally able to take a 10-9 lead after
Taylor Smith's second ace. A kill by
Maria Brown and two Golden Eagles' errors put EIU out front 13-10. EIU would see their lead grow to as many as five, but Tennessee Tech would go on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 19-19. The teams would trade points until the Panthers would earn the final two points in the set capped off by a
Chelsea Lee kill to give EIU the first-set victory 25-23.
With the Panthers down 2-3, they would use their first four-point rally to take a 6-3 lead completed by a Brown kill into a Tennessee Tech timeout. The Golden Eagles would pull to within a single score, but the Panthers again used a four-point rally to extend their lead to 13-8.
Josie Winner gave EIU their largest lead of the set at 17-11 with a kill. Tennessee Tech would score five out of the next six points to cut the Panther lead to two before an EIU timeout. An
Abby Saalfrank kill gave EIU a 21-18 lead late in the set, but another five-for-six scoring opportunity for Tennessee Tech clinched the second-set in favor of the Golden Eagles 25-23.
The Panthers came out of the break firing from the start as
Allie Hueston put EIU ahead 4-1 with a kill. Tennessee Tech would find a way to tie the set at 5-5. Back-to-back kills from Winner put the Panthers out front again 9-5. Tennessee Tech would go on a five-point run in the middle of the set to take a 14-11 lead. With Tennessee Tech holding a 23-20 advantage late in the set, EIU would score the final five-points in the third-set to win by a score of 25-23.
Tennessee Tech would be the ones to take an early lead to begin the fourth-set by a score of 7-2. A pair of aces from
Stephanie Wallace cut the TTU lead to 11-8.
Kayla Nesbitt found a hole in the Golden Eagle defense as her kill sparked a four-point Panther rally to tie the set at 18-18. Tennessee Tech would earn the lead on the next point and hold it until a Lee kill would tie the score for the final time at 24-24. TTU would take the next two points in the set to earn the 26-24 victory.
Back-to-back kills by Hueston helped EIU start the fifth-set out front 3-1. Tennessee Tech would score six-straight points to take an 8-4 lead. Smith brought the Panthers to within a score, but would earn the next four points to take a 13-8 lead. The Panthers followed Tennessee Tech's rally with a six-for-seven swing to tie the set at 14-14. Tennessee Tech would earn the next two points to take the fifth-set 16-14.
Five Panthers – Hueston (14), Saalfrank (13), Winner (12), Lee (11), and Nesbitt (10) – all finished the match with double-digit kill marks. The Panthers had five members –
Anne Hughes (21), Smith (18),
Nicole Schladt (16), Wallace (16), and Brown (12) – with double-digit dig marks.
"We have fought hard all year," said Head Coach
Samantha Wolinski. "This loss hurts, but I do not think it takes away from what we have done all year. We have five seniors that have worked hard for Eastern Illinois volleyball the last four years, and they are a big reason why we had such a great season this year."
Wolinski finishes the 2015 season with a 16-15 overall record going 11-6 in conference matches in her first year as the head coach for Eastern Illinois Volleyball.Â
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