Eastern Illinois Volleyball (20-3, 10-2 OVC) at Little Rock (7-16, 4-8 OVC)
Friday, Nov. 3
rd
Little Rock, Ark. | Jack Stephens Center
6 p.m.
Live Stats |
Watch
Â
Eastern Illinois at Little Rock
Saturday, Nov. 4th
Little Rock, Ark. | Jack Stephens Center
4 p.m.
Live Stats |
Watch
Â
ON TAP: After splitting with SEMO last weekend, the Eastern Illinois volleyball team will continue their pursuit of the OVC title when they hit the road to take on Little Rock this Friday and Saturday. The first match is scheduled for November 3
rd at 6 p.m. while the second is set for November 4
th at 2 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are 4-0 all-time versus the Trojans. EIU swept both meetings between the teams last season.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS:
- Little Rock has an overall record of 7-16 with a 4-8 mark OVC play. They dropped their last match against SEMO on Monday by a score of 3-0.
- The Trojan attack is led by middle blocker Daedrianna Cail with 174 kills on a .323 hitting percentage. She is followed by freshman Bella Cherry with 148 kills.
- Dariana Valencia and Kaylee Smith handle setting duties for UALR. Valencia leads the team with 337 assists (4.49 APS) while Smith follows with 239 (3.23 APS).
- Cail also leads the Trojans in blocks with 80.0 total (1.07 BPS).
- Little Rock is led by head coach Van Compton, who is in her 36th season at the helm of the program. She has compiled a record of 567-494 at UALR.
WEEKEND RECAP: EIU split their two matchups with SEMO last weekend. The Panthers won three straight sets on Friday to take the match in four behind 18
Natalie Mitchem kills and double-doubles from Giovana Larregui López and
Catalina Rochaix. Eastern then fell just short of completing a reverse sweep on Saturday, as they fell 3-2 despite four Panthers recording double digit kills.
CONFERENCE LEADERS: Giovana Larregui López leads the OVC in points per set (4.63), service aces (50), and aces per set (0.58). She also leads in total kills (329) and kills per set (3.83), with
Natalie Mitchem following in second with 313 kills and 3.64 kills per set.
Catalina Rochaix leads in assists (922) and assists per set (10.72) and
Julia Stanev leads in blocks per set (1.16).
Christina Martinez Mundo is second in the conference in total digs (475) and digs per set (5.34).
NATIONAL LEADERS: Giovana Larregui López is fifth nationally in service aces and seventh in aces per set.
Christina Martinez Mundo is 11
th in digs per set and 17
th in total digs. Catalina Roxhaix is 12
th in assists per set and has entered the top 20 in total assists at 19
th.
TEAM RANKINGS: Despite taking a third loss, the Panthers still possess a top 10 winning percentage nationally. They moved up to 73rd in this week's NCAA RPI ranking. As a team, EIU leads the OVC in seven different statistical categories. Nationally, they are sixth in service aces (185) and seventh in aces per set (2.08), while coming in at 19
th in team hitting percentage (.277).
NEXT UP: EIU will head to Edwardsville next weekend to take on SIUE in another two match series. The first match is scheduled for Friday, November 10
th at 6 p.m. and the second is scheduled for Saturday, November 11
th at 4 p.m. The Panthers will return home to face Western Illinois the next week to close out the regular season.
HEAD COACH: Sara Thomas is in her fourth season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois. Last season, Thomas led the Panthers to their second consecutive OVC Tournament appearance. Their 16-16 record was the program's best since 2015, and their 10-8 OVC mark was the first winning conference record since the same year. The Panthers are looking to take the next step this season and challenge for the OVC crown.
Â
