EIU Sees Season Come to End at OVC Tournament

#7 EIU took on #3 Murray State in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament Friday afternoon. The Panthers fell to the Racers losing a four-set match 1-3 (25-21, 24-26, 19-25 and 17-25).

EIU closed out the 2017 season finishing with a 15-15 record and 9-9 in OVC play.

EIU came out charging in the first set defeating Murray State 25-21. The first set featured many runs by both teams who only exchanged the lead one time throughout the set. Early in the set the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 run ignited from a Courtney Radle attacking error. Murray State would battle back in the set tying EIU for a total four times. However, EIU was able to close out the set with a 4-0 run kicked off by a Maggie Runge kill to secure the victory.

The Panthers kept their offensive dominance rolling into the start of the second set by jumping out to a 7-0 run. Murray State answered immediately with a 6-0 run of their own. The Panthers grabbed the lead back from the Racers, but Murray State was able to come back and steal the set from the Panthers from the help of Katirah Johnson who led the Racers with five kills in the set.

The third and fourth set featured balanced play from both sides of the court. Murray State was able to capture both sets from the Panthers to advance to the finals. The third and fourth set both featured five ties and several lead changes. Murray State hit for their best average of the match in the third set hitting for a .421 average. Leading Murray State offensively for the match was Rachel Holthaus who claimed 15 kills for the racers.