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Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team is going back to the big dance. The Panthers (28-4, 15-3 OVC) swept Southeast Missouri State (22-10, 12-6 OVC) in front of an electric Groniger Arena on Wednesday night to win the OVC Tournament Final and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. It will be EIU's first NCAA Volleyball Tournament appearance since the 2001 season.
The set scores of Wednesday's match were as follows: 25-21, 25-16, and 25-20.
EIU wasted no time getting things started, as they set the tone with an early 6-0 run to jump on SEMO in the opening set. The Redhawks clawed their way back into striking distance, but were held off by the Panthers, who eventually pulled away for a comfortable set one win. Giovana Larregui López and
Kate Dean both had four kills in the frame, with Dean recording a sky high .800 attack percentage.
Emily Wilcox also got off to a strong start with two kills and two blocks.
In the second set, EIU once again got out to a commanding lead, as they went up 13-5 in the early going. This time, Eastern kept the pressure on and never allowed SEMO to recover, with the Redhawks never pulling to within less than five points for the remainder of the set. The Panther offense was led by
Kaitlyn Flynn, who came on strong for six kills on 10 attempts. Meanwhile,
Christina Martinez Mundo had a monster set on the back line with 18 digs.
The third set was much tighter with a total of eight tied scores and five lead changes. However, after SEMO tied EIU at 15, the Panthers outscored the Redhawks 10-5 the rest of the way, with
Natalie Mitchem closing things out with a pair of kills. With the win, Eastern completed a dominant OVC Tournament run in which they never lost a single set, winning each match 3-0.
Christina Martinez Mundo was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. The senior libero had 71 digs through three matches for an outstanding per set average of 7.89. Her 33 total digs in Wednesday's championship battle tied the season-high nationally for digs in a three-set match.
Giovana Larregui López and
Catalina Rochaix were also named to the All-Tournament team.
Larregui López recorded a total of 38 kills (4.22 KPS), five service aces, 35 digs (3.89 DPS), and two block in the tournament. In the title match, she had 12 kills and 11 digs, making it her third double double of the tournament.
Rochaix finished the week with 118 total assists, including 37 in the final, for a fantastic 13.11 assists per set. She set the Panther hitters up with an open net all weekend as EIU recorded a team attack percentage of .275. She also added 17 digs and five blocks to her tournament stat line.
Other key performers in Wednesday night's match included
Kaitlyn Flynn and
Kate Dean.
Flynn equaled Larregui López for the match-high in kills with 12 terminations on a very efficient .312 hitting percentage, while also adding a pair of blocks. Meanwhile, Dean recorded eight kills on a .727 attack percentage and added a team-high four blocks.
Emily Wilcox also had a solid showing with five kills on a .556 hitting percentage, two blocks, and a service ace.
As OVC Tournament champions, EIU receives an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers will learn their next opponent when the NCAA announces the bracket this weekend. The selection show is scheduled to air on ESPN at 5 p.m. (Central) on Sunday, November 26th. The first round of tournament action will kick off on November 30th and December 1st.
