Ohio Valley Conference

ATHENS, Ohio - 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.

#4 LOUISVILLE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
LOUISVILLE - The Morehead State volleyball team ran into a buzz saw in the fourth-ranked Louisville Cardinals Sunday in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Louisville (2-0), last season's national runner-up, slugged a .451 attack percentage in their 25-13, 25-13, 25-17 sweep of Morehead State (1-2).

Sarah Heath and M.E. Hargan paced the MSU attack. Heath finished with nine kills, hitting .211. Hargan's nine kills came on 32 swings for a .152 attack percentage. 

Louisville was paced by Payton Petersen with 12 kills.

After an even start in the opening frame, the Cards used a 8-2 run to be the first to 20 and closed out the set with a four-point run. Louisville hit .412 in the frame to .059 for MSU.

The Cards turned up the attack in the second set, hitting .452 for the frame.

BELMONT 3, UT MARTIN 0
NASHVILLE - The season-opening weekend wrapped up for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team today as the Skyhawks battled but fell in three sets at Belmont (25-16, 25-17, 25-15).

Offensively, Kylie Surratt led UT Martin in kills for the second straight day as she slammed down nine rally killers. The nine kills equaled Kayla Bryant for the team lead as the senior from Louisville, Ky. also collected a team-best 10 digs, narrowly missing out on a double-double. Freshman Ava Peters made her first career start at setter, dishing out a match-best 23 assists to go along with eight digs.

Abby Freund and Surratt each contributed seven digs apiece while Maddy Gladson (two blocks) and Dylan Sulcer (two service aces) also contributed with team-highs in their respective categories for the Skyhawks.

For the second straight day, a kill by Kristin Phillips got UT Martin on the scoreboard. After the Bruins took an 8-3 advantage, the Skyhawks received a kill from Surratt to trim their deficit to 12-9. However, Belmont scored nine of the next 13 points on the way to a 1-0 lead in the match. Surratt had four kills on a .214 hitting percentage while Peters posted eight assists and a team-best five digs in the opening set.

UT Martin raced out to a 3-1 lead in the second set before the Bruins retook the lead. After a Bryant kill pulled the Skyhawks back within a single point at 12-11, Belmont reeled off six unanswered points. A Gladson kill and Sulcer service ace on back-to-back points halted the Bruin momentum but Belmont was able to take a 2-0 lead. Bryant accounted for five of UT Martin's 12 kills in the set while Peters (nine assists) and Freund (five digs) also stood out for the Skyhawks.

Another Sulcer service ace and a kill by Bryant provided UT Martin with a 6-5 edge to start the third stanza. The Bruins went back on top but the Skyhawk deficit was whittled down to three (15-12) following a Phillips service ace. However, Belmont answered with a 7-1 surge to close out the win. Peters had six assists and a team-best two kills in the third and final set.