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Eastern Illinois (7-10, 0-7 OVC) vs. Belmont (6-12, 4-4 OVC)
Friday, Oct. 15
6 p.m. at Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats | ESPN+

Eastern Illinois vs. Belmont
Saturday, Oct. 16
4 p.m. at Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats


ON-TAP:  Eastern Illinois will travel to Nashville, Tenn. after having three straight home matches to face-off against the Bruins of Belmont University. The matches are set for Friday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. Both matches will be played in the Curb Event Center with Friday's match airing on ESPN+. EIU looks to secure their first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Panthers are currently losing the all-time series against Belmont, 1-9. They have not played the Bruins since the 2019 season due to the condensed CVOID-19 2020 season that was played last spring. EIU lost to Belmont in 2019 by a score of 3-0. Belmont has won the last two matches against Eastern.

OVC UPDATE: This marks the fourth week of conference play for the OVC. UT Martin has taken over the first place spot from Austin Peay this week after winning their last six OVC matches. They currently have the longest win streak in the conference, and sit at a 10-10 record overall. Eastern currently ranks tenth in the standings with an 0-7 OVC record and 7-10 record overall. Belmont sits in sixth place with a conference record of 4-4, and a overall record of 6-12.

OVC INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Kameryn Sillmon retains her first place status for hitting percentage in the conference with a .303. Emily Wilcox is close behind her with a .302 hitting percentage and is in second. Kylie Michael moves into first place in service aces with an average of 0.38 per set. Christina Martinez Mundo currently ranks fifth in the conference in digs per set with an average of 4.72 after averaging 6.11 this past week. She also ranks fifth in service aces with an average of 0.30 per set. EIU also leads the conference in total service aces per set with 1.75.

STRONG DEFENSE: Despite the losses, the Panthers played tough on defense last week against SIUE and Southeast Missouri State. EIU tallied 142 digs last week for an average of 14.20 per set, and had a total of 20 blocks in three matches for an average of 2.00 per set. The defense was led by Mundo who had a three-match stretch of 61 digs and a average of 6.10 per set, a season high for a three match period. Wilcox also contributed on the defensive side of the ball when she netted 11 block assists for the week, and Sillmon added nine block assists and two block solos.

RECORD CHASING: Bailey Chandler currently sits at 2167 assists in her career including 55 last week. She needs 230 more to move into eighth place on the all-time Eastern Illinois assists list. Kara Harper currently sits atop that list with 5,339 assists in her career. Chandler was presented with a 2,000 assists volleyball last week before their match against SIUE.

NEXT UP: Eastern Illinois will come back to Lantz Arena next weekend for Homecoming weekend as Morehead State comes to Charleston. The two matches versus Morehead State will be played on Friday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 23 at 12 p.m. The Eastern Illinois football team also has a game that Saturday at 2 p.m. after the volleyball match.
 
HEAD COACH: Sara Thomas enters her second season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois and marks her first full season at the helm. Thomas is assisted by Manolo Concepcion and Ana Paula Zandona. The Panthers look to build off their 2-14 record last season in a condensed COVID-19 season.