Panthers crush Lady Governors in Ohio Valley Conference match - Volleyball
The Dunn Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted an exciting four-set thriller between Lady Governors of Austin Peay University and Eastern Illinois Panthers on Friday, September 23. The Lady Govs, who were hosting the match, could not profit from the home
court advantage and received a 1-3 defeat from the visiting team. The home opener of the Lady Govs was spoiled as rhw Panthers put up a great show of volleyball and hit the mark with 24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 in four sets.
Following their success at the Ohio Valley Conference match, the Eastern Illinois squad will continue down the road through Volunteer State, as Panthers will go against Tennessee State on Saturday, September 24.
The OVC victory moved the Eastern to an overall record of 4-10 and 2-2 in early league action.
Set 1
The start of the game was good for the home team as they took control of the action. The difference of points was not large but Lady Govs remained ahead of their opponent. In the meantime, Panthers used different tactics and tried to overcome the power of
the home team. Junior Alison Berens hit convincing shots and struggled to put her team in the lead. Panthers remained calm and built the right rhythm to hit the equaliser at 24-all. However, Austin Peay was not ready to give them an easy match. They resisted
in full force and seized the first set with a two-point margin (26-24).
Set 2
Panthers dropped the opening set but did not give up hope of coming back into the game. They put away powerful serves and made a strong opening in the second set. Emily Franklin supplied plenty of power to the ball and helped Eastern Illinois to take early
lead. Austin Peay, equipped with home support, tried to stop their opponents but faced problems in doing si. Reynae Hutchinson and Katie Kirby formed a nice combo and improved the score of the Panthers. As a result, Eastern moved to a 20-12 lead in the second
set. Hosts came close with four points later in the set at 21-17 but failed to close the gap. Panthers evened the score by capturing the second set, 25-19.
Set 3
Eastern were back on track with the second set win. They were out of the early shock and entered the third set with the right attitude to score points. Lady Govs scored two points, while in response the Panthers added 8 points. Katie Kirby nailed consecutive
kills and created problems for the defence of Austin Peay. The consistency in attack and defence allowed Panthers to snatch a third set win from Lady Govs at 25-20.
Set 4
The Fourth set of the game was closely contested as both teams were in a hurry to score points. Austin Peay desperately wanted to tie the game-score, while the Panthers were all set to put an end to the game. It turned out be a point-to-point battle but
the final victory graced Eastern Illinois in the fourth set. They proved to be better and sent 25-22 on to the board to win the set and match as well.
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