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EVANSVILLE, Ind.. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball squad finished the 2009 season with a tough five-set loss to Eastern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, with the match held half-way between the two schools on the campus of the University of Evansville.  The contest was played at the Purple Ace's Carson Center in Evansville, Ind.

The match, which was originally set for Nov. 6, was rescheduled as the outcome was necessary to determine the final team spot in the end-of-season six-team OVC Tournament, set to begin later this week.

The win by EKU helped them nab the sixth seed, as they pushed their record to 10-18 overall and an even 9-9 in OVC play.  The Panthers, meanwhile, finished with more than twice as many wins as last season, ending the 2009 campaign at 11-20 overall and 4-13 in OVC action.

Four Panthers finished with double-digit kill totals, with junior Alex Zwettler leading all players with 25.  Melanie Boykins, Erin Hake and senior Jessica Wheeler added 10 kills apiece, however EIU was ultimately out-hit .276 to .184 by EKU.  The Colonels finished with just two more total kills than EIU, though, enjoying the 66 to 64 edge.

Four Colonels also tabbed double-digit kills with junior transfer Autumn Harms leading her squad with 18.

EIU sophomore libero Brittany Wallace finished with 20 digs, as EIU barely trailed dig game, 71 to 69.  Junior Jorie Dieter led with six block assists with Wheeler adding five stops at the net.

EIU was also out-blocked by EKU, ten to nine, but the Panthers earned 63 assists to 61 for the Colonels.  The big team stat was aces, as the Panthers fired off seven total, as compared to just two for the Kentucky squad.  EIU's Hake led all players with four aces, while Zwettler added three of her own.

The match featured 24 ties and 13 lead changes as the visitors, EKU, pulled out a tight opening set win as neither squad was able to lead by more than three points the entire frame.  Tied at 23-all, EKU took advantage of a Panther service error and a kill by Harms gave the Colonels the win, 25-23.

The second set went entirely for EKU, as the Colonels blew open a 1-all tie to lead 15-8 before exploding for another 10-5 run to take the early two-set lead into the break with the 25-13 victory.

Set three was another close one as the squads played side-out ball while also going on various spurts, with the Panthers leading 12-6 at one point before EKU would counter to eventually tie it up at 17-all.  The Colonels would extend their lead to 19-17 to force an EIU timeout.  The Panthers would earn the momentum back with consecutive kills to lead 20-19, but EKU would tie it again at 20-all thanks to one EIU's eight service miscues.  Following a key block of the Panther attack, the partisan EKU crowd was suddenly on their feet in anticipation of a three-set sweep, as the Colonels had the luxury of three match points as they lead, 24-21.  But a 4-0 swing by the Panthers not only made EKU very nervous, but eventually would stun the noisy Colonel faithful as EIU would force a fourth set with the 26-24 come-from-behind win.  The run featured four kills by Zwettler and a very untimely EKU hitting error.

The fourth frame would again be a tight affair, with the teams going back and forth to eventually tie at 12-all.  EIU would pull away to lead 20-15 thanks to kills from Zwettler, Melanie Boykins, and an ace by Hake.  The Colonels would continue to put on some pressure pulling to within 22-20 at one point, but the momentum had suddenly swung to the Panthers' side of the court as EIU would force a fifth frame with the 25-22 win.

The last frame would not go the Panthers way, however, as unforced errors plagued EIU from the start.  Down 2-0, the Panthers would suddenly find themselves trailing 8-3 as the teams exchanged sides of the court.  The Colonels would advance ahead 11-4 before consecutive EIU kills would require EKU to call timeout as the Panthers pulled to within 11-7, but from that point on, the team winner was never in doubt the rest of the way as EKU would survive with a 15-8 win.  The Panthers gave the Colonels all that they could handle in the match, however, making EKU have to fight to earn the tough win and advancement to the OVC tournament.

First year head coach Alan Segal will have 11 returning Panthers back for next year, losing senior players Jessica Wheeler and Lauren Schutte, and student assistant Shaina Boylan, who was forced to forgo her senior season due to an injury.

… for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID