MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois volleyball (16-16, 10-8 OVC) lost in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to Southeast Missouri in a close five sets. The Panthers battled back from a 0-2 deficit to force sudden death, but fell 9-15 in the final set.
The set scores were: 23-25, 25-27, 25-17, 28-26, 9-15. There was 33 ties throughout the match and 16 lead changes. The fourth set alone had 19 ties and 10 lead changes.
Giovana Larregui Lopez led the Panthers in the match with 20 kills and five service aces. She was one of four EIU players to have over 10 kills. Her first team All-OVC teammate
Kaitlyn Flynn also had 13 kills and two aces.
The freshman duo of Kate Dean and Lilli Amettis helped the Panthers push the match to a fifth set. Dean recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 block assists, and became the first Panther this season to have double digit blocks.
Amettis added 11 kills and five block assists to help Eastern Illinois. Dean was second on the team in hitting percentage with a .364 while Amettis had a .226.
Annika Black also added six kills and three blocks.
Catalina Rochaix and
Summerlyn Smith helped lend a hand to the EIU attackers with Rochaix adding 33 assists and Smith collecting 23. Six different Panthers had a service ace in the match.
Christina Martinez Mundo, who broke the single season EIU record for digs during the match, was tied for the lead by an EIU player in digs with 14. Flynn also added a double double with 14 digs.
During the first two sets, Southeast Missouri was able to control the net by combining for 10 blocks including for six in the first. SEMOÂ in five sets had 21 blocks against the EIU attacks. Eastern had a 15-11 lead in the first set, but SEMO came back with a 8-3 run to take the lead.
The second set saw Eastern climb back from a 15-8 hole to close the gap to 21-21. Both teams went blow for blow during the second, but ultimately it was the Redhawks who won.
Eastern struck back during the next two sets with two victories. In the third, EIU dominated with the largest victory of the entire match with a 25-17 victory. EIU registered 16 kills while hitting .480 in that set.
In the fourth, Eastern registered 18 kills in a back and forth match that had 19 ties. EIU took a 24-28 lead, but SEMO crept back in and tied it. The Panthers would eventually take control with a 28-26 win.
In the final set, SEMO scored the first four points before EIU called a timeout. SEMOÂ hit .471 in the final set and won win in five by a final score of 9-15.
Eastern Illinois finished the season with their most kills, assists and wins since 2015, most aces in the 25-point rally era, and their most digs since 2018.
Â
