Eastern Illinois was unable to capture a win on their Utah road trip, falling 3-1 against Wyoming. EIU falls to 1-5 (0-0 OVC), while the Cowgirls improve to 3-1 (0-0 Mountain West).
The Panthers' offense was a thorn in their side in the weekend finale, finishing with a .133 hitting percentage, including a 0% in set one. Wyoming jumped out of the gate, earning a 25-15 set one victory. Although EIU out-killed Wyoming, the Panthers' 11 early errors proved too costly to overcome.
Trailing 1-0, EIU dominated the second set, using a 5-0 scoring run moments before the media timeout to take an early 13-9 lead. Holding a 15-11 advantage after the break, the Panthers kept their foot on the gas, driving two separate 3-0 scoring runs, controlling the set with a 21-13 lead. Eastern Illinois closed the set with a 25-15 win, led by a .294 hitting percentage with a match set-high 15 kills.
Eastern Illinois battled Wyoming tightly for the next two sets but was never able to hold a lead, falling to the Cowgirls in four sets.
Statistically, EIU finished with more kills (49-48) and digs (64-53) than the Cowgirls, but Wyoming's 12 blocks kept the Panthers in check through three out of the four sets. Ruby Jensens denied the Panthers 10 times, followed by Reagan Sharp totaling six.
The Panthers had several bright spots in the stat sheet, led by Alanys Nieves, who recorded a match-high 40 assists in her first start of the season. Freshman Kaeden Foxx paced the Panthers with 15 kills, while Katie Kopshever added 14. Defensively, Ariadna Pereles led all players with a match-high 26 digs.
By The Numbers:
EIU: 143 Attacks, 49 Kills, 45 Assists, .133 Hit%, 4 Aces, 64 Digs, 1 Blocks
Wyoming: 134 Attacks, 48 Kills, 45 Assists, .261 Hit%, 7 Aces, 53 Digs, 12 Blocks
Up Next: The Panthers will head to Indiana for a Friday doubleheader against Cal Poly and nationally ranked Indiana.
