MATCH ONE: EIU 3 UTM 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (13-8, 7-1 OVC) volleyball defeated the Skyhawks of UT Martin (13-9, 7-2 OVC) in a battle of the top two seeded teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. After match one, Eastern Illinois moved into first place with a 7-1 conference record. The set scores were: 30-28, 25-18, 21-25, 14-25, 15-13.
This tight battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the conference did not disappoint on lead changes. In total, EIU and UT Martin were tied 30 times and posted 14 lead changes in five sets. EIU was able to take their first two sets in the match while posting 16 and 13 kills in those two sets.
UT Martin would not stay down for long as they climbed their way out of a 0-2 hole to tie the match back up at 2-2 and force a fifth set. EIU was held to a -.091 hitting percentage in the fourth set and was held to just 14 points. The Skyhawks also went on a 13-0 run in the fourth set.
EIU has now won six straight OVC matches which is their longest conference win streak since the 2013 when that team won nine in a row on their way to a 12-4 conference record. With this win, it marks their best start through eight OVC matches since 2005 when they started 8-0.
Giovana Larregui Lopez set a new career high in kills with 24 while leading EIU with a .315 hitting percentage. She also had 15 digs to go along with her new career high in kills. It was her fourth straight match with at least 15 kills, and now has nine double-doubles on the season to lead EIU.
Kaitlyn Flynn was second on the team in kills with 16 despite posting below her season average. Flynn continues her streak of double-digit kill matches with nine in a row. She also helped the team on defense with eight digs and two total blocks.
Lilli Amettis also had nine kills.
Despite winning the match, EIU was held to below their average with a .139 hitting percentage. UT Martin out hit the Panthers by downing 63 kills compared to EIU's 55. Eastern also had 32 errors compared to the Skyhawks' 29. EIU did have six service aces led by Larregui Lopez who had three.
Emily Wilcox had a career day at the net defending the Skyhawks attacks. She posted a career high five block solos in the win and led EIU with six total blocks. Amettis and
Ireland Hieb also contributed two block assists each.
Christina Martinez Mundo was tied for the lead by all players in digs with 24 while also setting seven assists. Her 24 assists were her most in a match since defeating Southern Indiana on Sept. 27. Mundo was also perfect on receptions with 17 and no errors.
Catalina Rochaix posted a team high 24 assists while
Summerlyn Smith also added 22 to help EIU take down the first place Skyhawks. Their efforts helped the Panthers hit for .320 in the second set and .240 in the fifth.
The Skyhawks were led by Logan Wallick with 17 kills, Karen Scalon with 14 kills and 10 digs and Angel Baylark with 12 kills. Haeleigh Paulino posted 31 assists while Dylan Mott posted 24 digs.
MATCH TWO: EIU 2Â UTM 3
EIU and UT Martin put on another show for the crowd at Lantz Arena with their second consecutive five set match that resulted in a 3-2 win for the Skyhawks. The Panthers battled back from a 2-1 deficit but it was not enough to defeat the Ohio Valley Conference leader in match two.
Eastern and UT Martin combined for 23 total ties and 10 lead changes in match two on Friday including eight ties and four lead changes in the second set. EIU recorded at least 11 kills in four of their five sets with 17 being stuck down by the Panthers in set number one.
Kaitlyn Flynn had the hot hand in match two by hitting 23 kills in the five set loss, her most since Sept. 27 at Southern Indiana. Flynn was third on the team in hitting percentage with a .182. She has a team high 10 straight matches with double digit kills.
Giovana Larregui Lopez also had a second straight match with double digit kills when she laid down 19 kills in five sets. She was second on the team behind Flynn with 51 attacks and fourth on the team in hitting percentage with a .176. Out of a total of 119 kills between two matches, Larregui Lopez and Flynn combined for 82 of them (69%).
Lilli Amettis and
Emily Wilcox both had seven kills each in the loss against the Skyhawks. Wilcox led the team in hitting percentage with a .429 hitting percentage and only one error.Â
Catalina Rochaix had a career match against UT Martin with 43 assists which marks a new career high. Rochaix had 43 assists out of 107 attempts for a percentage of .402.
Summerlyn Smith also chipped in nine off the bench.
Christina Martinez Mundo had herself her second straight 20 plus digs match with another 24 digs. Mundo was one of four Panthers to record a service ace. Larregui Lopez had a team high five aces in match two.
UT Martin had 12 total blocks compared to EIU's eight. Amettis led the Panthers at the net with four block assists while
Kate Dean had three. The Panthers also posted a team hitting percentage of .154 compared to the Skyhawks .170.
The Skyhawks were led by Logan Wallick who posted 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .225. Angel Baylark posted 13 more kills while Karen Scanlon hit 11. Scanlon and Mia Saenz both had six block assists each while Dylan Mott added 15 digs to her night. The Skyhawks improve to 14-9 on the season.
The Panthers will be back in action next Thursday, Oct. 20 when they travel to Morehead, Ky. to face-off against Morehead State. Matches will be held on Thursday and Friday at 5 p.m. ESPN+ will be provided.
