#6 Eastern Illinois (0-10, 0-10 OVC) vs. #3 Morehead State (14-10, 7-3 OVC)
OVC Beach Volleyball Championship First Round
Thu., April 24 | 12 p.m. ET | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Bracket | Digital Program | Championship Central
 
ON TAP: The 2025 OVC Beach Volleyball Championship presented by Sun Belt Bakery gets underway this week, with Eastern Illinois set to take on Morehead State in the opening round. The match is set for Thursday, April 24th at noon ET.

The three-day event will be held on the campus of top seeded Chattanooga and will be streamed on ESPN+.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD: Chattanooga claimed its second straight OVC regular-season crown and first outright. The Mocs will be the No. 1 seed with UT Martin as the No.2 seed, just ahead of No. 3 Morehead State. Lindenwood is the No. 4 seed and is followed by follow by Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois.

The tournament follows a double-elimination format.

LAST TIME OUT: EIU closed out the regular season last week at OVC Weekend No. 2 in Morehead.

On day one, the Panthers fell 0-5 against UT Martin before suffering a 1-4 loss against Morehead State, with No. 4 pair Ariadna Pereles and Kaitlyn Flynn taking their matchup 2-1 (21-15, 9-21, 15-10).

On day two, Eastern fell to Tennessee Tech in a narrow 2-3 defeat before dropping the season finale 1-4 against Chattanooga.

Against TTU, the Panthers got off to a strong start as Kaitlyn Flynn and Ariadna Pereles picked up a straight set win (21-11, 21-15) in the No. 4 position. No. 5 pair Julia Udell and Lilli Amettis secured EIU's second point with a 2-1 win (20-22, 21-13, 15-10).

Against the Mocs, Tori Mohesky and Sylvia Hasz got EIU on the board with a 2-1 win in the No. 3 spot (16-21, 21-19, 18-16).

NEXT UP: With a win, EIU will advance to play No. 2 UT Martin at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. With a loss they will fall to the loser's bracket, where they will play in an elimination game at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.

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.
 
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.