After winning their season opener Friday night, Eastern Illinois volleyball won their two games Saturday afternoon against Bellarmine and Chicago State to help them win the EIU Panther Invtational.
The Panthers faced the Knights of Bellarmine first on Saturday and won in five sets (18-15, 26-24, 20-25, 25-16. 15-7).
Senior
Danielle Allen had 17 kills in the series, and freshman
TaKenya Stafford had her first career double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs.
After losing the first set, the Panthers had a series high 16 kills in the second.
In the third, Bellarmine was helped by Seville Gates with five kills and Emily Arnold with seven assists and four digs.
The Panthers bounced back in the fourth with seven kills from Stafford, and ultimately defeated Bellarmine in the fifth set 15-7.
The second matchup of the night ended in a 3-0 sweep of Chicago State (26-24, 25-21, 25-23).
The first set consisted of five lead changes, and ultimately saw the Panthers down 16-13 late in the set. Allen's four kills helped them rally to win the first.
Summerlyn Smith added six assists and four digs in the second set to pull away from Chicago State two sets to none after EIU trailed 14-8 early in the set. Smith would end the game with 16 assists.
Kylie Michael finished the day off with five kills in the final set to help EIU beat CSU.
Kameryn Sillmon led the way with Allen with eight kills each.
CSU was led by Nailah Jones with 14 kills and Jaclyn Inclan with 34 assists.
This is the first time since the 2015 season that the Panthers have started the year 3-0. This also marks the first time the Panthers have won their own invitational.
Chicago State 3 – IUPUI 2
Chicago State won the first game on Saturday in five sets. The Cougars was led by Inclan with 47 assists, and the Jaguars had 22 kills from Allie Pogue.
IUPUI 3 – Bellarmine 1
IUPUI defeated Bellarmine in four sets during the third match on Saturday. IUPUI was led by Darragh Dixon with 42 assists. Bellarmine received 16 kills from Seville Gates.
EIU volleyball returns next Thursday, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. in Lantz Arena against Northern Illinois.
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