Box Score
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In their final match of the 2016 season, the Eastern Illinois volleyball team traveled for an Ohio Valley Conference contest at Austin Peay. The Governors hit past the Panthers as Eastern Illinois fell in straight-sets (16-25, 16-25, 15-25). Eastern Illinois finishes the 2016 season with a record of 5-26 (2-14 OVC). Austin Peay finished the regular season at 23-10 (12-4 OVC) and will play in the OVC Tournament next weekend.
Austin Peay took a 7-5 lead in the early stages of the first set, but the Panthers quickly regained the lead on back-to-back kills by
Taylor Smith and a
Maria Brown ace. The Governors answered back with a big run of their own as they rattled off seven-straight points to overtake the lead at 14-8. The Panthers cut the deficit late on a kill by Brown and an error by the Governors, but a kill by Austin Peay's Logan Carger gave APSU the deciding set point.
Austin Peay took command early in the second set as the Governors led 11-2. The Panthers chipped away at the Austin Peay lead as a kill by
Josie Winner cut the APSU lead to 13-8 and forced the Governors into a timeout. The Panthers kept the momentum on their side of the court as an ace by
Lindsey Powers capped a four-point run by the Panthers and cut the Austin Peay lead to 17-15. Austin Peay regained their rhythm and ended the second set on an 8-1 run to take a 2-0 advantage over the Panthers.
After Austin Peay opened up the third set scoring the first five points, Eastern Illinois was forced to attempt another comeback. A kill by
Maggie Runge sparked a 4-1 run by the Panthers and moved the score to 6-4 in favor of the Governors. Austin Peay took advantage of an EIU service error and used another five-point run to extend their lead to 11-4. The Panthers and Austin Peay exchanged points until the Governors scored three straight and extended their lead to 20-11. Eastern Illinois attempted to work their way back into a set after a kill by
Morgan Matusik and an APSU error, but the Governors scored the final two points in the set to win the match 3-0.
Runge finished with a team-high eight kills to lead the Eastern Illinois offense. Brown led the EIU defense with 13 digs.
