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Photo Galley (By
Sandy King)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois Volleyball closed out the Panther Invitational against Iona Sunday afternoon. EIU defeated Iona in the final contest of the tournament winning a four-set match 3-1. (14-25, 25-12, 25-16, and 25-16)
EIU finished in third place in the Panther Invite with their win. Eastern Illinois advances to 2-2 on the season.
Iona came out strong to open up the match defeating the Panthers by double digits. The Gaels jumped out to a quick 7-0 run ignited by a Mia Bonsignore kill. Claire Archibald led the Gael offense with five of her team-leading 12 kills.
Laurel Bailey led EIU in kills with six in the first set.
EIU battled back in the second set to defeat the Gaels by a set high 13 points. The Panthers hit for their best percentage in the second set hitting for 61%. The Panthers strung together a bunch of runs throughout the set to pull away from the Gaels.
Lexi May and
Kylie Michael led the Panther offense with three kills each. All-Tournament team selection
Maggie Runge led the Panthers with two blocks.
The Panthers would take control of the match winning the third and fourth sets 25-16. Both sets featured the highest amount of tie scores in the match with five each set.
Gina Furlin helped the Panthers pull away in the third set with her two aces. Michael took control of the third set totaling a team-leading six kills for EIU. The Panthers ended the match on an 8-0 run ignited by a
Laurel Bailey kill.
Bailey finished with 15 kills, seven digs, four blocks, three aces, and an assist. Michael finished with 11 kills and nine digs. Runge led the Panthers with seven blocks.
Standings
1 – Fresno State (3-0)
2 – Valparaiso (3-1)
3 – Eastern Illinois (2-2)
4 – Iona (1-2)
5 – Saint Francis (0-4)
*Note – Fresno State and Iona did not play each other, Bulldogs beat Valparaiso head-to-head to win title.
All-Tournament Team
Reagan Leonard, Fresno State - MVP
Taylor Slover, Fresno State
Brittany Anderson, Valparaiso
Peyton McCarthy, Valparaiso
Maggie Runge, Eastern Illinois
Claire Archibald, Iona
Madi Tyus, Saint Francis
