Eastern Illinois sweeps Ohio to finish up their opening weekend at the Ohio Bobcat Invitational. EIU moves to 2-0, while Ohio falls to 1-2.

After a hard-fought victory on Saturday, the Panthers kept their foot on the gas, including a third-set comeback, to remain undefeated on the weekend. Set one remained tight throughout with a total of eleven ties and five lead changes. EIU found separation late in the set with multiple back-to-back scoring outputs from Destiny Walker. After an Ohio timeout, the Panthers led 20-15 and fought off a last-minute resurgence from the Bobcats. Following the first set, Eastern Illinois sped away early and kept a comfortable distance from Ohio with multiple long scoring runs, including two 4-0 scoring runs to break the set open early. The key difference was Eastern Illinois' ability to limit unforced errors. EIU committed just 2 service errors and 12 attack errors, compared to Ohio's 12 service errors and 20 attack errors. With the Panthers having the Bobcats trapped in the corner, Ohio fought back in set number three. The Bobcats jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, forcing coach Millar to call an early timeout. After trailing 16-9 and starting to look ahead to set number four, the Panthers sparked a late comeback on the back of a 4-0 scoring run. EIU found themselves with the lead late in the set after an attack error on Ohio's Madyson Long. Both teams fought neck and neck until Eastern Illinois dove to the finish line with Catalina Rochaix's two assists and a service forcing an Ohio attack error, pushing the Panthers over the edge for the match sweep. 

Eastern Illinois won with the usual suspects making timely contributions, including Destiny Walker, Ariadna Pereles, Catalina Rochaix, and Emma Schroeder.

Walker's 14 kills and Rochaix's 25 assists led the way for the EIU offense. Defensively, the Panthers were no slouch with Pereles' 21 digs and Schroeder's 4 blocks. To go along with these game leaders, Katie Kopshever recorded 7 digs and 9 kills. 

As a team, EIU recorded 107 attacks, 34 kills, 53 digs, and 6 blocks. 

Eastern Illinois will be back in action next weekend, Friday, September 5th, at 12:00 p.m. against Kansas City to start the Southern Illinois Saluki Classic.