Eastern Illinois continues to dominate at home after speeding past Morehead State in four sets. EIU is now 9-0 at the new Gardella Family Court and has earned their best regular season home record since 2013. The Panthers move to 20-6 (14-2 OVC), while the Eagles fall to 19-8 (13-3 OVC).  

Set One: The Eagles looked for revenge after dropping match one; however, both teams were equal early on. Each team took turns scoring until Morehead State found the first momentum boost, holding a small 15-13 advantage heading into the media timeout. The Eagles held strong, continuing to lead 19-15, forcing a late EIU timeout. The run would continue after the timeout, scoring three in a row. The Panthers were unable to attempt a late charge, dropping set one 25-18. 

Set Two: The Panthers found their footing and dominated the entire second set. Opening with an early 9-5 lead, the Panthers continued to control the crowd with a 15-11 lead heading into the media timeout. After the break in the action, the Panthers steamrolled past the Eagles, scoring six unanswered points, including three Katie Kopshever service aces. With a 23-13 lead, the Panthers felt no trouble en route to a set two victory.  

Set Three: A pivotal set three was controlled by the Panthers, who exploded right from the jump with six straight points to take the 8-1 lead. Shortly after, the Panthers rattled off four out of the next five points to take a commanding 13-5 lead. The Eagles used both of their timeouts early but were unable to stop the bleeding, falling behind 18-8 after a kill by Destiny Walker and a Catalina Rochaix service ace. The Eagles scored two straight, but the Panthers responded by fueling a 6-0 scoring run to earn a set point. Morehead State did not back down and used a 5-0 scoring run to check back into the set. However, EIU did not panic and closed the set out 25-15 after a kill by Katie Kopshever.  

Set Four: Like set one, both teams were unable to gain separation early for a 10-10 tie. The tight battle would continue as each team took turns going on mini scoring runs. Heading into the media timeout, the Panthers found a rhythm, scoring two straight, securing a 15-14 advantage. With the set tied at 16 apiece, the Panthers turned it up to eleven and scored five unanswered points between the two Eagles timeouts. Morehead State battled back, narrowing the deficit to three. The Panthers led late 22-19 and battled the rest of the way. EIU used two Eagles errors to earn match points. Lilli Amettis closed out the set with a kill from Catalina Rochaix.  

By The Numbers: Katie Kopshever directed the offense, leading the match with 17 kills. As usual, Catalina Rochaix earned the top spot in the assists category with 45. Tori Mohesky added four service aces, and Emma Schroeder recorded a .438 hitting percentage. As a team, EIU held a .302 hitting percentage, 58 kills, 55 assists, 65 digs, and 11 blocks.  

The Panthers will have a quick turnaround and travel to Tennessee Tech with the chance to clinch the OVC regular season championship.