CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Belmont volleyball team defeated Eastern Illinois in five sets in a match played Friday night at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois.
The Bruins beat the Panthers 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 19-25, and 15-11.
"Definitely a hard fought win tonight," said head coach Deane Webb. "EIU is a very good team. I was impressed with them throughout our preparation for the match, but even more so in person. Berens was a tremendous performer for them tonight."
Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) led Belmont with 17 kills, while Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) added 13.
"Jen had a great match attacking," said Webb. "She hit over .300 while getting 17 kills."
The match was evenly played throughout. The opening set remained close, with the Bruins jumping out to a five-point lead, 12-7, from an Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) service ace. Eastern Illinois continued to put pressure on Belmont, and tied the set at 21-all before a Panthers service error gave Belmont the lead back and the 25-21 win in set one.
Belmont and EIU exchanged points with the Panthers taking control. EIU jumped out to a 20-16 lead, that they would not relinquish tying the match at one set each at the break.
After the break, the Bruins battled back, jumping out to a 9-3 lead. The Panthers overcame the six-point deficit, tying the match at 9-all. Belmont put together short runs to extend their lead. Behind late kills from Youngdahl and Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Belmont took set three, 25-22.
The fourth set opened with the two teams scoring back-and-forth. However, the Panthers wouldn't go quietly as they took control once again in the fourth set, leading by as many as eight points. Despite a late run by the Bruins, Eastern Illinois took the fourth set, 25-19, forcing the match into a fifth and deciding set.
In the deciding set, the Bruins jumped out to a 4-1 lead, before EIU tied the match at 7-all. A Belmont 3-0 run, increased the Bruins lead, 12-9 before the Panthers responded.
"Serving aggressively was a key in earning the win, particularly in the fifth set," said Webb.
Back-to-back kills from McCoy closed the set, 15-11 with Belmont earning the 3-2 win.
Belmont finishes the regular season with an overall record of 15-15, 11-5 in the OVC and will be the No.3 seed in the conference tournament, which begins on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Morehead State.
"We are looking forward to a couple of days of preparation before going into postseason next week," said Webb. "Our team is fully aware of both the opportunities we have in front of us and the work it will take to get there."
