Game 1 vs. Arkansas State

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois opened up the Southern Illinois Saluki Bash with a convincing 3-0 win over Arkansas State. The victory was EIU's fourth 3-0 win of the season and brought their record to a still perfect 7-0. The final set scores were as follows: 25-15, 25-20, and 25-22. 

The first set was neck-and-neck at the halfway point with things knotted up at 12 apiece, but eight unanswered points from EIU broke the stalemate wide open as the Panthers ran away from the Red Wolves to take a 1-0 advantage. Eastern's 13-3 run featured kills by four different players, including three off the attack of Natalie Mitchem who finished the set with six kills on a .625 hitting percentage. Julia Stanev recorded two blocks in the set.  

EIU kept things rolling in the second set, as Mitchem added eight more kills to her total to help lift the Panthers to a 2-0 lead. The Panthers trailed for much of the third set, including being down by as many as five points, but were able to scrap their way back to take the lead late and then held off the Red Wolves to close out the match. 

The Panthers' offense was led by Natalie Mitchem, who recorded 18 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. She was followed by Kaitlyn Flynn and Giovana Larregui López with seven kills apiece. Kate Dean contributed six kills and finished with a match-high .500 hitting percentage.  

Catalina Rochaix continued to set the bar at the setter spot, collecting a match-high 33 assists and helping the Panthers to a team hitting percentage of .309.  

Christina Martinez Mundo led the match with 18 digs, while Julia Stanev outpaced all players with five blocks.  

Eastern Illinois led Arkansas State in kills, hitting percentage, assists, and digs.  
 

Game 2 vs. Alabama A&M

In their second match of the day, Eastern Illinois secured yet another 3-0 victory. In a contest that featured an almost entirely different Panther lineup than in their first match, there was no drop-off. Each set finished as follows: 25-15, 28-26, and 25-13.

The Panthers controlled the opening set from the start, as they pounced out to an 8-1 lead over the Bulldogs and never looked back, retaining at least a seven-point cushion for the remainder of the set. Setter Sylvia Hasz did a great job distributing the ball, finishing the set with 10 assists, and helping five different Panthers record at least one kill, led by sophomore Tori Mohesky with 10. Hasz also had a kill of her own.

The second set was a much more dramatic affair. After jumping out to a 9-5 lead, the Panthers relinquished their advantage after a 5-0 Bulldog run. EIU was forced to deny two Alabama A&M set point opportunities before finally reclaiming the lead and finishing things off in extra play. The set was headlined by outside hitter Ella Collins with nine kills.

Eastern would not let up in the third, jumping out to another 8-1 lead and staying locked in the entire way as they finished up their second consecutive Friday double header in which they did not concede a single set.

Ella Collins led the way for the Panthers' offense, matching teammate Natilie Michem's game one performance with 18 kills while recording a .483 hitting percentage. Tori Mohesky and Emily Wilcox were also key contributors, finishing with 10 and seven kills, respectively. Sylvia Hasz led the match with 40 assists for a dazzling 13.33 assists per set.

EIU also recorded nine service aces, with Christina Martinez Mundo leading the match with three.

Martinez Mundo was again the leader on defense, recording a match-high 22 digs for 7.33 digs per set. Mohesky and Hasz also added seven digs each, while Emily Wilcox collected two blocks.

Eastern Illinois will return to action tomorrow as they will look to remain unbeaten against host Southern Illinois in what will be their final tournament match of non-conference play. Action is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.