INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team wrapped up their second weekend of non-conference play with a still unbeaten record, defeating the Jaguars of IUPUI 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in the final match of the Hampton Inn Invite. The set scores were as follows: 27-29, 25-18, 25-9, and 25-15.
EIU's only dropped set of the weekend came in a tightly contested opening set in which the Jaguars were able to hold off the Panthers in extra play. IUPUI rode their momentum to a 13-7 lead in the second set before the Panthers roared back, outscoring the Jaguars 18-5 to even things up.
Eastern would not look back, as they kept things rolling with a dominant set three win before controlling the fourth set to lock up their sixth win of the season.
The Panthers offense was led by
Natalie Mitchem with 15 kills on a very efficient .469 hitting percentage. She was followed by
Kate Dean with nine kills, and Giovana Larregui López with eight kills. As a team, EIU recorded a solid .295 hitting percentage.
Catalina Rochaix recorded a double-double on the day, as she facilitated the EIU attack with a match-leading 31 assists while also holding things down on defense with a team-high 10 digs. Rochaix's performance helped her surpass 1,000 career assists, as she brought her total to 1,005 just a little over a year into her collegiate career.Â
Other defensive leaders for the Panthers included Giovana Larregui López (nine digs),
Christina Martinez Mundo (eight digs) and
Kaitlyn Flynn (seven digs).
Giovana Larregui López was named tournament MVP. On the weekend, Larregui López led EIU with 33 kills on a .353 hitting percentage. She also recorded 14 service aces and 24 digs over the three matches.
Joining Larregui López as All-Tournament selections were
Christina Martinez Mundo and
Kate Dean.
Martinez Mundo paced the EIU defense with 46 digs for an average of 4.60 digs per set. She also contributed 11 assists and a pair of service aces on offense.
Dean finished the weekend with 20 kills, and her .372 hitting percentage was the highest on the team among players with over 10 attempts. She also added six blocks.
Other tournament leaders for the Panthers included
Natalie Mitchem (32 kills, .344 PCT.),
Catalina Rochaix (97 assists, 9.7 APS), and
Julia Stanev (eight blocks).
Next up for the Panthers is the Sothern Illinois Saluki Bash in Carbondale. They will face off with Arkansas State at 12 p.m. on Friday, September 8
th, followed by a match against Alabama A&M scheduled for 4 p.m. They will take on Southern Illinois at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday to close out the weekend. EIU will then return to Charleston to host Missouri on September 14
th and 15
th.
