Eastern Illinois (14-14, 8-7 OVC) vs. Southern Indiana (1-25, 1-14 OVC)
Wednesday, Nov. 9
Charleston, Ill. | Lantz Arena
6 p.m.
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ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois volleyball hosts Southern Indiana for their final home match at Lantz Arena for the 2022 volleyball season. EIU is in the thick of things in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 8-7 record, just a half game back of SEMO and Morehead State. USI has a 1-14 conference record this season in their first season as a Division I program.
This midweek matchup will start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The Panthers can move into a three-way tie for third place with a victory.
ALL-TIME SERIES: EIU and Southern Indiana have only met one time in school history, which was earlier this season at Southern Indiana. Eastern Illinois won the first matchup 3-1 as
Kaitlyn Flynn posted 27 kills in the match. The Panthers held the Screaming Eagles to just 36 kills during their first meeting.
Southern Indiana made the jump from Division II to Division I this season from the Great Lakes Valley Conference along with fellow OVC member Lindenwood.
TENNESSEE TECH RECAP: Eastern Illinois lost two close matches against the current number two team in the OVC in Tennessee Tech in Lantz Arena this past weekend. The Panthers dropped match one by a score of 3-1 while the second went to five sets before TTU pulled off the victory on senior day.
Giovana Larregui Lopez had a career weekend with 43 kills in nine sets for an average of 4.78 kills per set. In the five set loss to the Golden Eagles, Larregui Lopez was able to smash down a career high 26 kills while also hitting .207.
Catalina Rochaix also set career bests this past weekend with 44 assists against TTU. Rochaix was the leading setter for the Panthers amassing 68 total assists in nine sets while averaging 7.56 assists pet set.
EIU was also efficient from the back line posting 11 service aces in two matches.
Christina Martinez Mundo and Larregui Lopez led the way for the Panthers with three aces each.
Kaitlyn Flynn also chipped in 22 kills over the weekend.
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. Flynn is currently leading the Panthers with 343 kills while Larregui Lopez collected her 300th kills this past weekend (333 total).
Flynn had a career high 15 straight matches with at least 10 plus kills that came to an end this past weekend 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 four 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 just under 50 percent of the total kills for EIU this season (.497%). Flynn and Lopez have combined for 677 kills out of 1362 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 5.05. Martinez Mundo also sits in the number three spot in terms of total digs with 535. She is one of three liberos with at least 500 digs.
In the NCAA, Mundo ranks 12th in total digs and 19th in digs per set. Eastern as a team ranks 100th in digs per set with an average of 15.04. They are fourth overall in the OVC in digs per set and are third in the OVC in total digs with 1594, just behind Tennessee State and SEMO. The Panthers are also 39th in the NCAA in team digs.
Kaitlyn Flynn stays at the top of the OVC rankings after her 22 kills against Tennessee Tech. She sits atop the conference in kills per set with an average of 4.25 kills per set. In the NCAA she ranks 20th in that category.
Giovana Larregui Lopez sits at second in kills per set just behind her teammate Flynn with an average of 3.83 kills per set (75th in the NCAA). Lopez is also second in the OVC in service aces per set with an average of 0.44.
Catalina Rochaix also makes an appearance on the list in assists with an average of 6.17 per set which is fifth in the OVC.
SCOUTING THE SCREAMING EAGLES: Southern Indiana is currently 1-25 and 1-14 in the OVC after battling with Tennessee State last weekend in two close losses. In their first Division I season, USI played former OVC opponent Murray State and common opponents Duquesne and Oakland earlier this season.
Leah Anderson leads the Screaming Eagles on offense with 307 kills in 95 sets while also ranking sixth in the OVC in kills per set with an average of 3.23. She ranks fourth in total points this season in the conference.
Abby Bednar is also over 200 kills this season with an average of 2.24 per set. Carly Sobieralski is seventh in the OVC in assists per set with an average of 5.94.
Defensively, Paris Downing is averaging just under 1.00 block per game while collecting 80 total blocks in 81 sets played. She currently ranks seventh in the OVC in blocks per set. Keira Moore is also seventh in digs per set with an average of 3.87.
The Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana are coached by Randi Raff who is in her fourth season as head coach.
UP NEXT: Eastern Illinois will end their regular season this weekend in Saint Chalres, Mo. as the Panthers will face-off against Lindenwood for the first time in program history. Matches will start at 6 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. Only match one on Friday will be streamed on 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.
