The Panthers battled hard all night long against the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State, but came up just short during a 3-0 victory by SEMO. The final scores of each set were as followed: 23-25, 18-25, 27-25. EIU remains winless in the Ohio Valley Conference this season.
Eastern Illinois was up 18-12 late in the first set, but a late 13-5 push by the Redhawks ended the set by a score of 18-25. The Panthers held SEMO to a .188 hitting percentage, but only posted a .135 in the first. They were led by
Kylie Michael who had seven kills in the first set and four digs.
Bailey Chandler also added 10 kills to start her night. Southeast Missouri's Zoey Beasley had five kills in the set and Claire Ochs had nine assists.
SEMO had their best set of the night against the Panthers in the second when they defeated them 25-18. EIU allowed Southeast Missouri to post a .353 hitting percentage in second, and Colby Greene had seven kills. Tara Beilsmith had nine digs for the Redhawks, while
Danielle Allen had three kills and
Christina Martinez Mundo had eight digs for the Panthers.
The night came to a close with SEMO and EIU battling it out in the third set. EIU was up late, 23-20, when SEMO tied the match up at 24 all. EIU would go on to lose the last set 27-25 in the closest set of the match.
Ireland Hieb posted five kills in the third with Michael also providing four kills for the Panthers. Beasley had five kills for the Redhawks while Ochs provided 12 assists.
Southeast Missouri State was led by Beasley and Greene with 11 kills each, Ochs with 30 assists, and Beilsmith with 14 digs. The Redhawks improve to 13-5.
The Panthers were led by Michael with 13 kills, Hieb with eight kills, Chandler with 20 assists, Mundo with 19 digs, and
Emily Wilcox with five blocks. EIU sits at 7-9 after tonight.
EIU and SEMO will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. in Lantz Arena for the conclusion of the Panther's first conference homestand.
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