Box Score
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Eastern Illinois volleyball took a brief break from Ohio Valley Conference play and traveled to Terre Haute, Ind. to face their I-70 rival, Indiana State. The Panthers fell to their rivals in four sets by scores of 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, and 25-19. Eastern Illinois will play their next two matches on the road this weekend as they face Southeast Missouri on Friday and UT Martin on Saturday.
With the loss, Eastern Illinois volleyball drops to 3-14 overall.
After a kill by
Josie Winner gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead in the first set, Eastern Illinois rolled off five-straight points capped off by a block by
Katie Sommer and
Allie Hueston to extend their lead to 12-7. The lead grew to seven points as a kill by
Abby Knight put the Panthers ahead 17-10.
Maria Brown would give the Panthers the first set victory at 25-19 scoring the final point on a kill.
After a kill by Brown tied the second set at 10-10, Indiana State elected to call a timeout to break the Panthers rhythm. The move worked in the Sycamores favor as Indiana State would go on a 5-0 run out of the break to take a 15-10 lead. The Panthers would close the gap to three points late, but Indiana State scored the final three-points in the set to even the match at 1-1.
The third set started out close between the two teams until Indiana State used a four-point run to take a 10-7 advantage.
Taylor Smith and Hueston combined on a block to cut the Indiana State to two points on the next play, but the Sycamores would build a six-point lead after that to put the score at 16-10. The Panthers attempted a late rally, but Indiana State would pick up the third set victory at 25-19.
Eastern Illinois would tie the fourth set at 13-13 following a Brown kill and an ISU error, but the Sycamores began to take control of the set after the error. Indiana State would score the next seven points to take a 20-13 lead. Eastern Illinois would cut the deficit to five-points following a Hueston kill and another Indiana State error, but the Sycamores would hold off the Panthers and won the fourth set 25-19.
Brown (14 kills and 11 digs), Smith (22 assists and 13 digs), and Winner (10 kills and 10 digs) all finished the match with double-doubles for the Panthers.
Lindsey Powers finished with a team-high 16 digs.Â
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