CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Eastern Illinois (11-8, 5-1 OVC) volleyball takes the first match of a weekend series against defending Ohio Valley Conference champions Southeast Missouri (8-9, 3-2 OVC) by a final of 3-0. This win breaks a 10-game win streak for the Redhawks against the Panthers. The set scores were: 25-23, 25-19, 26-24.
EIU collected their 11th win of the season Friday evening which ties their win total from last season. The Panthers have not swept SEMO since October 6, 2017 and also marks their last victory against the Redhawks. The last time EIU had at least five conference victories was in 2018.
Giovana Larregui Lopez led all attackers in the match with 15 kills on 41 attempts for a hitting percentage of .244 (third on the team). Larregui Lopez collected at least four kills in each set including seven in the final set to help EIU get the victory. She also recorded 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
The Panthers' offense had at five players record at least five kills in the match.
Kaitlyn Flynn recorded 10 kills against SEMO for her seventh straight double-digit kill match of the season. She also had 14 digs for her third double-double.
Emily Wilcox was efficient at the net with a season high nine kills and a team leading hitting percentage of .643 on 14 attempts.
Ireland Hieb also contributed seven kills while both had three block assists.
Annika Black also had four total blocks in the win.
The setting duo of
Catalina Rochaix and
Summerlyn Smith had another strong performance with Rochaix collecting 22 assists while Smith had 19. EIU had a .297 hitting percentage throughout the match while the Redhawks were held to just a .170. Both setters also had eight digs.
Christina Martinez Mundo had a team high 16 digs to help EIU keep SEMO off the board. Martinez Mundo helped lead EIU to a 66-60 advantage in digs. There was nine total lead changes in the match including 16 ties in the first set alone.
The Redhawks were led by Kaelyn O'Brien and Kayla Closset with 12 and 10 kills each. Libero Tara Beilsmith had 28 digs to lead all players. Izzy Lukens was their leading setter with 17 assists. SEMO drops to 8-9 on the season.
EIU and SEMO will face-off again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Houck Field House for their second match of the weekend series. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and LiveStats will be provided.
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