CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball (15-14, 9-7 OVC) ends their home regular season with a 3-0 sweep against Ohio Valley Conference newcomer Southern Indiana (1-26, 1-15 OVC). The Panthers are now tied for third in the OVC rankings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The set scores were: 25-23, 25-20, 25-22. Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana kept it tight in all three sets Wednesday evening. There was a total of seven lead changes and 17 ties including 14 in the final set.
EIU's offense broke out against USI with a total of 49 kills and a hitting percentage of .321. The Panthers were led by their total kills leader Giovana Larregui Lopez while tying her career high in kills with 26. In three of her last four matches, Larregui Lopez has had at least 20 kills.
She now leads the team in kills with 359 while her partner in crime
Kaitlyn Flynn had 353 after adding nine to her total against Southern Indiana.
Ireland Hieb also added eight kills which marks three straight matches with eight kills.Â
At the setter position, Catalina Rochaix took charge as the lead point in getting the Panthers' attackers the ball. She had 43 assists which is her second most of her career. She posted a season high .494 assists percentage on 87 attempts while also adding five digs and a block assist.
Eastern Illinois also took advantage from behind the service line with six total aces including two from their outside hitters Flynn and Larregui Lopez. As a team, Eastern Illinois is third in the OVC in service aces with an average of 1.41 per set.
Defensively, the Panthers caused 16 attack errors by the Screaming Eagles offense. EIU also took control at the net with five blocks compared to USI's two. Hieb had three total blocks including one solo while Kate Dean added two block assists.
Christina Martinez Mundo led all players in the match with 20 digs, her most since Oct. 14 against UT Martin. Mundo also had one error on 29 attempts in receptions. EIU was led by their defensive captain when they were down 11-15 in the second set and went on a six to one run to take the lead.
The Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana were led by Leah Anderson with 12 kills on 31 attempts while Abby Bednar added 11 kills. Carly Sobieralski added 31 assists out of 38 kills and also added an ace. Bednar and Bianca Anderson both add two block assists.
Eastern Illinois ends their regular season this weekend when they travel to newcomer Lindenwood in Saint Charles, Mo. Matches start at 6 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. The OVC Championship schedule will be announced on Sunday after the regular season ends.
