CHICAGO – In pursuit of their second tournament title in consecutive weekends, Eastern Illinois volleyball defeated the Toledo Rockets in the Saturday (Sept. 5) morning opener of the DePaul Invitational, 3-2, before eventually dropping the tourney title to the host Blue Demons in a four-set thriller.
EIU 3, Toledo 2The morning session of day-two at the DePaul Invitation began with Eastern Illinois facing a team in the Toledo Rockets that the EIU volleyball program has struggled against in years past, going 1-4, in those meetings. The Panthers were eager to face an unfamiliar foe, and came out victorious winning the match 3-2 (25-12, 21-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-5).
The Panthers had their way in the first set, as they continued with their dominating play they displayed the night before (Sept. 4) in their 3-0 victory over Evansville. A kill from
Allie Hueston gave the Panthers a slight 3-2 edge, but from there EIU never looked back the rest of game one as they took the set easily by a score of 25-12.
The first set loss appeared to be a wakeup call for the Rockets, as things were not as easy in set two for the Panthers. EIU took the first point in the second set, but were only able to tie the game on two different occasions, as the Rockets never trailed in the set. After the Rockets got themselves out to a fairly comfortable lead, the Panthers were able to cut the lead down to three due to back to back kills from
Abby Saalfrank and
Chelsea Lee, but to no avail as EIU dropped the second set 21-25.
The third game saw a lot of alternate scoring throughout the set.
Taylor Smith squared the set up at 11-11 following a kill of her own, but the Panthers could not make a run out of it as the Rockets took control of the set, and once again, would not trail as EIU lost game three 21-25.
The Panthers sought to keep their title hopes alive heading into game four, and another Lee kill was the answer they were looking for. An ace from
Stephanie Wallace put EIU ahead by three points, but the Rockets were able to tie the set up at 18-18 from a kill by their Haley Sendelbach. EIU called a timeout to regroup and to talk some strategy. The timeout worked in the Panthers favor, as a kill from
Abby Knight mixed in with two Rocket errors gave EIU a 25-18, victory in game four.
The Panthers were appearing in another five set match in consecutive weekends. The Panthers came away with a 3-2 win in their previous such match last weekend, (Aug. 29), against Central Michigan at the IPFW Invitational. The experience paid off for the Panthers, as the pressure would not get to them, and take game five steadily 15-5. A pair of aces from Hueston, and another, from the likes of
Marah Bradbury clinched game five and the match for EIU.
Hueston and Lee caused havoc for the Rocket defense as they tallied a match-high 16 kills each. Wallace, lead the way for the Panthers on the defensive side, digging out 16 attacks, while Smith and
Anne Hughes both chipped in 10 digs apiece.
After the game, Coach Wolinski was pleased with her team's efforts -- "We fought back through adversity of sets two and three to come back to win in sets four and five. This was a total team effort both on and off the court. In sets four and five we got back to playing our style of volleyball, and controlled the tempo of the game. Our block was impressive in the last two sets. Chelsea (Lee) and Allie (Hueston) did a great job earning kills for us!"
DePaul 3, EIU 1Much like their scenario last weekend at the IPFW Invitational, the Panthers saw themselves in the championship game against the host opponent, this time, DePaul. The Panthers came up just short this time, losing 1-3 (21-25, 26-24, 24-26, 24-26).
The Panthers took an early 7-4 lead against DePaul following a Knight kill for the Panthers, but the Blue Demons would go on an 6-0 run for a 7-10 advantage over EIU. A Saalfrank kill brought the Panthers within two, but with the help of the home crowd, DePaul would win the first set over EIU 21-25.
A fairly evenly played second set, saw the game tied on 12 different occasions, with the last happening following a DePaul service error knotting the set at 24-24. The Panthers would take advantage of the Blue Demon error, as they earned the next two points with the help of another DePaul error, and a kill by Hueston to complete the 26-24 win.
Much like the second set, the third set again saw a close battle between the two squads.
Maria Brown put the Panthers ahead, 4-1, but the Blue Demons would steal the lead rather quickly rallying off the next four points. A
Josie Winner kill squared the set at 5-5, and the exchange of lead changes would begin. The Panthers were looking to take the third set after a kill from Smith earned EIU a serve for set point at 24-22. EIU was unable to connect for the set point, as DePaul would win the next four points and the set 24-26 over the Panthers.
In hopes of forcing a game five and keeping their title chances alive, the Panthers would need to find a way to steal a close match away from the host, Blue Demons. DePaul appeared to be on their way to a tournament title of their own, until EIU won four straight points to tie the set up at 24-24 with a kill from Brown. The Panthers used what they had left in the tank, but the Blue Demons rolled off the next two points taking the set, 24-26, and the match, 1-3.
Lee and Saalfrank earned double-digit kills with 13 and 11, respectively, while Wallace upped in a match-high 21 digs.
DePaul Invitational Final Standings1 - DePaul -- 3-0
2 - Eastern Illinois -- 2-13 - Toledo -- 1-2
4 - Evansville -- 0-3
DePaul Invite All-Tournament TeamCaitlyn Coffey (MVP) -- DePaul
Saige Gallop -- DePaul
Colleen Smith -- DePaul
Allie Hueston -- Eastern IllinoisRachel Vidourek -- Toledo
Genesis Miranda -- Evansville
The Panthers will be back in action next weekend (Sept. 11-12) at the Dayton Flyer Invitational, in Ohio. EIU is scheduled to face Cleveland State on Friday (Sept. 11) at 3 p.m., while facing Dayton at 11:30 a.m. and Baylor at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 12).
