Eastern Illinois (0-6, 0-6 OVC) at OVC Weekend #2
April 18-19 | Morehead, Ky.
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Match 1: vs. UT Martin | Friday at 2 p.m. ET |
Live Stats
Match 2: at Morehead State | Friday at 6 p.m. ET |
Live Stats
Match 3: vs. Tennessee Tech | Saturday at 10 a.m. ET |
Live Stats
Match 4: vs. Chattanooga | Saturday at 2 p.m. ET |
Live Stats
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ON TAP: The Eastern Illinois beach volleyball team closes out the regular season with their second OVC Weekend this Friday and Saturday. Action is set to get underway on Friday morning in Morehead.
SCOUTING REPORT:
- UT Martin enters this weekend with a record of 18-8, including a 3-3 mark in conference play. They went 4-0 at the UCA Beach Invitational last weekend. Sydney Eckhardt and Sydney McGee lead the Skyhawks in wins with a record of 18-3, primarily as the No. 4 pair.
- Morehead State holds a 12-8 overall record with a 5-1 mark in conference play. They split a pair of matches against Tusculum and Eastern Kentucky in Richmond last time out. No. 1 pair Bella Marita and Irene Wogenstahl lead the Eagles with nine wins.
- Tennessee Tech arrives in Morehead with a 3-14 overall record and 1-5 mark in the OVC. They dropped all four of their matches at the Blazer Beach Bash in Birmingham last weekend. They narrowly defeated EIU 3-2 at OVC Weekend #1.
- Chattanooga is 19-5 overall and undefeated in conference play. They won all four of their matches at the Blazer Beach Bash last weekend. No. 4 pair Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence lead the Mocs in wins with a record of 20-3. Meanwhile, Neva Clark and Corina Vale are 18-6 as the No. 1 pair.
LAST TIME OUT: EIU suffered a narrow 2-3 loss against Lindenwood at Sister City Park last week, as the Lions overcame a 2-0 Panthers lead to take the match.
EIU started with the upper hand as the No. 5 pairing of
Lilli Amettis and
Julia Udell picked up a hard fought 2-1 win (21-13, 14-21,16-14), overcoming a substantial deficit in the final set to put Eastern up 1-0. It was the duo's second pair win of the season.
Sylvia Hasz and
Tori Mohesky kept things going in the No. 3 matchup as they rallied for a 2-1 win (16-21, 21-15, 15-13) after dropping their opening set. The victory brought Hasz and Mohesky's record to 3-3 on the season.
However, the Lions stormed back with straight set wins in the remaining three pairs to secure the match victory.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS: As the regular season winds down, preseason favorite Chattanooga sits atop the OVC standings with a record of 6-0. They are followed by Morehead State with a 5-1 record, while UT Martin and Lindenwood are tied with records of 3-3. Tennessee Tech (1-5) and EIU (0-6) round out the standings.
HEAD COACH: Ryan Millar begins his first season at EIU after being hired in late February. Millar is considered one of the greatest middle blockers the United States has ever produced in volleyball. He had a playing career that stretched 15 years as a member of the USA Men's National Team including three Olympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008). In 2008 he helped lead Team USA to the Olympic Gold, the first for the USA in men's volleyball in 20 years.
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He comes to EIU after serving three seasons as the associate head coach for the San Diego Miramar College men's volleyball program with the team winning back-to-back Pacific Coach Athletic Conference Championships and posting a Top 5 CCCCA ranking. He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater Brigham Young University (BYU) in 2006. He then served as the interim head coach in 2007 with the team producing a 24-6 record. Following that season he returned to the professional playing ranks.
