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No. 4 Eastern Illinois (16-15, 10-8 OVC) vs. No. 5 Southeast Missouri (15-15, 10-8 OVC)
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m.
Martin, Tenn. | Skyhawk Fieldhouse

Live Stats  |  Watch  | Match Notes

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois volleyball heads to Martin, Tenn. for their second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Tournament appearance. EIU will be taking on Southeast Missouri in their opening round matchup. EIU finished tied for third in the standings with a 10-8 conference record.

The Panthers hold their highest position in the OVC tournament since the 2015 season. EIU will be slotted in at the fourth seed while SEMO is in the fifth seed. They also collected their most wins (16) and OVC wins (10) since that same season. It also marks the first time EIU will be in back-to-back tournaments since 2017-2018.

ALL-TIME SERIES: EIU and Southeast Missouri have a long tenured series history dating back to 1977 when both schools were still in Division II. All-time Southeast Missouri leads the series 22-43 and also hold the edge in Eastern's Division I history 20-43.

This season, Eastern Illinois took both matches against SEMO in Cape Girardeau, Mo.  It marked the first time since the 2010 season that the Panthers swept SEMO in back-to-back matches. It also ended a 10 match winning streak by the Redhawks.

In the 2021 OVC Tournament, the number one seeded Redhawks defeated the Panthers in three sets and eventually went on to win the conference and moved on to the NCAA Tournament.
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OVC WEEKLY AWARDS: Two Panthers represented Eastern Illinois during the final week of OVC weekly awards. Giovana Larregui Lopez won the Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week while Catalina Rochaix was named co-Setter of the Week by the conference.

In three matches against Southern Indiana and Lindenwood, Larregui Lopez had 52 total kills in just nine sets including tying a career high 26 kills against the Screaming Eagles of USI. She posted an average of 5.78 kills per set while hitting .364%.

Lopez was able to find success at the net with double digit kills in all three matches and helped EIU collected two sweeps. She also found success at the back line with 10 service aces including nine total against the Lions of Lindenwood.

Rochaix had 93 assists for the Panthers for an average of 10.33 assists per set to lead EIU. Bridget Bessler from Morehead State also won co-Setter of the Week.

Her 43 assists against Southern Indiana was the second best in her career. She also contributed on defense with a total of 16 digs to help EIU earn two victories against USI and Lindenwood.

In the OVC, Rochaix is fourth in assists per set with an average of 6.50 while collecting the fourth most assists in the conference (735). She has 19 matches this season with at least 20 assists while also pulling down 199 digs so far this season.

BREAKING RECORDS: During the Panthers run to the OVC tournament, EIU has climbed the charts on teams records. Eastern Illinois has played 115 sets so far this season which is the best since the 2016 season (117). EIU also has 1483 kills this season which is the best since 2015 (1698).

Panthers setters have also been active contributing 1375 assists throughout the season, the best mark since 2015 (1579). The team's 170 service aces are also the most in the 25-point rally scoring era and the best since 2007.

Larregui Lopez has been on a record pace this year for the Panthers in her first season in the program. She has registered the most kills (385) since 2014 when Abby Saalfrank had 422. She also has 48 aces this season, the most in a season in EIU history since 2003.

Christina Martinez Mundo is just two digs away from breaking the all-time Eastern Illinois record at 586. She is one of two Panthers to ever average of five digs per set.

300 KILL CLUB: Kaitlyn Flynn and Giovana Larregui Lopez have become two of the best hitters in the OVC, with both going over 300 kills for the season. Larregui Lopez is currently leading the Panthers with 385 kills while Flynn sits at 368.

Flynn had a career high 15 straight matches with at least 10 plus kills earlier this season that ended against Tennessee Tech. She has five matches this season with over 20 kills and has the two top kills matches in the OVC.

Larregui Lopez has six matches this season with at least 20 kills and set a new career high last weekend in a five set loss against TTU. Not only does she get it done on offense, but Lopez has 12 double-double this season with collecting over 10 digs in those matches.

The two combined have collected 50 percent of the total kills for EIU this season (.507%). Flynn and Lopez have combined for 753 kills out of 1483 for the Panthers.

OVC LEADERS: Christina Martinez Mundo holds down the number three spot in the OVC in digs per set with an average of 5.08. Martinez Mundo also sits in the number three spot in terms of total digs with 584. She is one of three liberos with at least 500 digs in the OVC.

In the NCAA, Mundo ranks seventh in total digs and 17th in digs per set. The Panthers are also 45th in the NCAA in team digs.

Kaitlyn Flynn stays at the top of the OVC rankings after her week against USI and Lindenwood. She sits atop the conference in kills per set with an average of 4.18 kills per set. In the NCAA she ranks 28th in that category.

Giovana Larregui Lopez sits at second in kills per set just behind her teammate Flynn with an average of 4.01 kills per set (47th in the NCAA). Lopez is also first in the OVC in service aces per set with an average of 0.50. That ranks 19th in the country.

Catalina Rochaix also makes an appearance on the list in assists with an average of 6.51 per set which is fourth in the OVC.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: The Redhawks of Southeast Missouri finished 15-15 this season with a 10-8 record in the conference. They have won four of their last five conference matches to end the regular season.

Their offense is led by Zoey Beasley who is fourth in the OVC in kills per set with an average of 3.30 and 383 total kills.Raminir Gardner is also hitting .270 this season for the Redhawks which is in the top ten for the conference.

Defensively, SEMO is led by one of the top liberos in the nation, Tara Beilsmith. She is currently second in the NCAA in digs per set with an average of 5.99 while also ranking second in total digs with 695 only two behind the leader.

SEMO leads the conference in digs with a 17.34 average while also allowing the third lowest hitting percentage by opponents at .186.

The Redhawks are lead by 12th year head coach Julie Yankus who led here team last season to the NCAA tournament.

2022 OVC Volleyball Championship Schedule
 
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, November 17
Match 1 – No. 3 Morehead State vs. No. 6 Tennessee State – 10 a.m.  (ESPN+)
Match 2 – No. 2 Tennessee Tech vs. No. 7 Lindenwood – 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 3 – No. 4 Eastern Illinois vs. No. 5 Southeast Missouri – 3 p.m.  (ESPN+)
Match 4 – No. 1 UT Martin vs. No. 8 SIUE– 6 p.m.  (ESPN+)
 
SEMIFINALS – Friday, November 18
Match 5 – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner – 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 6 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 19
Match 7 – Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner – 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
HEAD COACH: Sara Thomas enters her third season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois University. Last season, Thomas took her team to the OVC Tournament for the first time since the 2017 season. EIU finished with a 11-18 record last season with a 4-14 OVC record. Thomas is assisted by Manolo Concepcion and Ignacio Valdemoros. The Panthers look to build off their success last season.