Match One Box |
Match Two Box
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team split their final games in the Maroon Classic on Saturday. The Panthers defeated Troy in straight sets before falling to the host, Mississippi State, in three sets. With the split, Eastern Illinois moves to 3-11 on the season and will begin OVC play at SIUE on Wednesday.
EIU 3, Troy 0
(25-22, 25-23, 26-24)
Eastern Illinois set the tone early in their match against Troy as the Panthers took an early 5-1 lead in the first set on an ace by
Lindsey Powers. The Panthers lead held steady during the middle portion of the set, but Troy cut the EIU lead to just two points at 20-18. The two teams would exchange points the rest of the way until a Troy service error gave EIU the first set victory at 25-22.
An
Abby Knight kill followed by a Troy error would give the Panthers a slim 6-5 lead to begin the second set. The lead grew to six points at 17-11 as Troy followed a
Josie Winner kill with an error. Once again the Panthers had to fight off a late rally by Troy as they managed to tie the score at 21-21. Eastern Illinois went to score the next three points to give them the momentum and capped the second set victory off on another kill by Knight at 25-23.
The score would remain close in the third set as Troy tied the game at 13-13 on a Sara Landis and Leah Causey block. Troy appeared as if they would force another set with EIU as they took an 18-14 lead. The Panthers closed the gap as a Knight block tied the score at 24-24. A Powers' service ace followed by a Troy error gave EIU the deciding third set victory at 26-24.
Taylor Smith picked up a triple-double in the win as she finished with 11 kills, 11 assists, and 12 digs. Maggie Rungie led the EIU defense at the net as she accumulated six total blocks in the match.
Mississippi State 3, EIU 0
(17-25, 19-25, 19-25)
The Panthers hung tough with Mississippi State to begin the first set as a
Maria Brown kill pulled EIU within a point at 7-6. Mississippi State began to pull away as the lead grew to seven points at 17-10 before an EIU timeout. MSU would not slow down after the timeout however, as they ended the first set on a pair of four-point runs and won the first game 25-17.
EIU would take the early advantage in the second set, after a bad set by MSU put Eastern Illinois ahead 4-1. MSU would manage to tie the set at 7-7 before the back-and-fourth action began. The score would become tied on four more occasions with the last occurring at 13-13 on a Winner kill. MSU would go on to score the next five points to put the set out of reach. The Panthers attempted a late comeback, but MSU came out on top 25-19.
Katie Sommer teamed up with Knight on a block to tie the third set at 12-12 and sparked a brief EIU rally. The Panthers would continue to lead in the set until MSU tied it up at 16-16 on a kill by Jelena Vujcin. MSU used another five-point run to pull away from EIU late as Mississippi State took the third set 25-19.
Smith led the EIU attack with nine kills in the match. Brown posted double-digit digs in the match as she finished with 10.
Gina Furlin was named to the Maroon Classic All-Tournament Team for EIU.
