CARBONDALE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball beat Southern Illinois in three sets on Saturday evening in exhibition play as the Panthers prepare to open the 2018 season under first-year head coach
Julie Allen.
EIU won the match 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 turning in a solid defensive performance that limited the Salukis to a .061 attack percentage for the match including hitting .000 in the second and third sets.
The Panthers had good offensive balance with
Laurel Bailey leading the way with nine kills. Bailey added 12 digs while
Anne Hughes also reached double figures with ten digs.
At the net
Abby Knight had four blocks as EIU had one solo block and 12 assisted blocks in the match.
The Panthers best attacking set was in the second as they hit .370.
"Overall it was a great team effort," said Allen. "I had all 17 players engaged for the whole match and each person knew their role and how to execute it. It was fun to play against another team across the net and SIU will become a great team. They exposed some of our weaknesses and I cant' wait to get back in the gym to work on correcting those areas."
EIU opens the regular season next weekend in Lantz Arena hosting the five-team, three-day EIU Panther Invitational sponsored by Holiday Inn Express.  The Panthers will play Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday afternoon at 12:30 pm followed by a 7 pm Friday night match against Fresno State. On Saturday EIU plays Valparaiso at 7 pm before wrapping up tournament action on Sunday afternoon against Iona at 12 pm.
All matches are free.
