Game One:
Eastern Illinois 16-6 (10-2 OVC) at Tennessee State 1-26 (0-14 OVC)
Date & Time: November 7th at 6:00 p.m.
Live Coverage: Live Stats
All Time Series: EIU leads 22-14
Game Two:
Eastern Illinois 16-6 (10-2 OVC) at Tennessee State 1-26 (0-14 OVC)
Date & Time: November 8th at 2:00 p.m.
Live Coverage: Live Stats
All Time Series: EIU leads 22-14
The end of the OVC regular season is nearing the end, but the Panthers have a lot to play for. With a conference record of 10-2, the Panthers trailed Morehead State by one game for first place. Before EIU hosts Morehead State, EIU will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for two road matches against Tennessee State.
Looking Back: This past weekend, EIU faced no trouble against UT Martin, winning both matches 3-0 and 3-1. The Panthers recorded their season-high service aces with 13 on Thursday. In 7 sets, EIU recorded 94 kills, 82 assists, 21 service aces, 109 digs, and 15.5 blocks. The largest margin of victory in a set over the weekend was 25-12 in set one on Friday night.
About the Panthers: The Panthers continue to roll, moving their winning streak to 8. EIU also remains undefeated at home with a 7-0 record, which is the best home start since 2013. Eastern Illinois enters the weekend with a 10-2 record in the OVC and 16-6 overall. Head coach Ryan Millar, in his first season, continues to stick with his rotation of Catalina Rochaix, Destiny Walker, Katie Kopshever, Tori Mohesky, Ariadna Pereles, Lilli Amettis, Emma Schroeder, and Anaya Rawlinson. This group continues to dominate statistically in both the OVC and the country. Ariadna Pereles ranks 5th in the nation for digs per set with 5.27, which also ranks her 1st in the OVC. Catalina Rochaix is slotted at 4th in the country and 1st in the OVC for assists per set with 10.82. Emma Schroeder leads the OVC in blocks per set with 1.11, while Destiny Walker is second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 4.09 kills per set. As a team, EIU is 9th in the country for team attacks per set with 37.95.
About Tennessee State: Tennessee State enters the weekend with a 0-14 OVC record and 1-26 overall. TSU is coming off of losing both matches to SEMO 3-0. Tennessee State is coached by Donika Sutton, who is in her ninth season. Sutton led the Tigers to an OVC championship in the 2022-2023 season. Although the Tigers have a losing record, they have a young squad that continues to develop. Freshman Aliyah Harris leads the offense with 178 kills and 194.5 points. One of the few seniors on the roster, Sagaia Reilly leads the team in assists with 524. Defensively, Eirini Bitsaktsi has produced 264 digs, followed by Reilly with 184. Maygan Miller-Garcia leads the team in blocks with 57. After traveling to EIU, the Tigers will end their season on the road against UT Martin.
All-Time Series: Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series 22-14. The Panthers split the season series last year with TSU, which were the final games of the season. In 3 sets against TSU, EIU is 19-5, 7-5 in 4 sets, and 2-4 in 5 sets.
Both matches can be followed on the live stats links above.
