Eastern Illinois (7-12, 0-9 OVC) take a set, but come up short against Belmont (7-12, 6-4 OVC) in their second match of the weekend by a score of 3-1. Belmont wins both matches at home. These were the following scores of each set: 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 22-25. EIU is still seeking their first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season.
Belmont took the first set of the match in a close one by a score of 25-22. The Panthers had it tied 22-22 late in the set, but Belmont scored three straight points to win the first. EIU was led by
Danielle Allen with five kills, and
Annika Black and
TaKenya Stafford with two kills each.
Summerlyn Smith also chipped in seven assists in the first. The Bruins saw Lauren Shoopman have seven kills and Carly Mason have 15 assists in the set.
EIU took their lone set of the night in the second with a 25-17 score. The Panthers ended the set on a 5-1 run. Stafford added six more kills to her total, and Smith added three kills and 11 assists in the second. Eastern posted a .294 hitting percentage in the set. Taylor Floyd had three kills for the Bruins and Mason had eight assists. The defense held Belmont to a .071 hitting percentage in the second.
The Bruins took control of the third early as they led the entire set. They would go on to win the set 25-20. Despite EIU hitting .250 percentage in the third, they would drop their second set of the night. Black had five kills in the set for the Panthers and
Christina Martinez Mundo had nine digs. Lauren Walsh posted six kills for the Bruins while as a team they posted a .281 hitting percentage.Â
The Panthers night came to a close as they would go on to lose the final set by a score of 25-22. EIU had closed the gap to 22-21, but Belmont would finish the night on a 3-1 run. Stafford had four kills and
Ireland Hieb had three.
Emily Wilcox also had three block assists in the set. Walsh and Shoopman combined for nine kills in the third, and Mason added 11 assists to her total. Belmont had a .214 hitting percentage as they held EIU to a .000 percentage.
Belmont was led by Walsh and Shoopman who each had 15 kills, Mason had 46 assists, and Rachel McBride had 25 digs. Belmont improves their OVC record to 6-4, and their overall record to 7-12.
EIU was led by Stafford with 14 kills and 10 digs, Allen with 12 kills, Smith with 31 assists. and Martinez Mundo with 18 digs. They drop their eleventh straight match and go to 7-12 overall.
The Panthers will host Morehead State on Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday Oct. 23 on homecoming weekend. Friday's match is at 3 p.m. and Saturday's is at 12 p.m.
