After being on the road for Family Weekend, the Eastern volleyball team currently holds a 4-15 overall record and a 2-7 record in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Sophomore Reynae Hutchinson and junior Emily Franklin led the team in kills and digs.

Hutchinson led all players in kills with 13 and had eight digs in Friday’s loss to Tennessee-Martin while Franklin had five kills and five digs.

This duo has been racking up statistics for weeks now, with each holding numbers in the hundreds for digs and kills.

Franklin has 194 kills and 141 digs while Hutchinson has 172 kills and 138 digs.

Around the OVC

Eastern Kentucky swept Tennessee Tech 3-0 on Saturday.

Eastern Kentucky have now won five of their past six matches, including Friday’s shutout of Jacksonville State.

Eastern Kentucky (11-9, 6-3 OVC) won by scores of 25-18, 25-19 and 25-22.

Sophomore Ashley Edmond, freshman Hannah Burkle, and freshman Abbey Cvelbar led the beating with a combination of statistics.

Edmond led the Eastern Kentucky onslaught with 11 kills while Burkle had nine kills and three blocks. Cvelbar totaled 27 assists, seven kills and two blocks.

Eastern Kentucky broke a 6-6 tie in the first set and led an 8-0 run to take control and cruise to victory. 

The second set went back and forth as Eastern Kentucky committed an error to allow Tennessee Tech to make it a two-point game, 20-18.

However, Eastern Kentucky buckled down and took the next five out of the final six points to take the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Much like the second, Eastern Kentucky thought they could coast into an easy victory, but a kill by Edmond in the third set stretched the Eastern Kentucky led to six, 19-13, but Tennessee Tech cut the deficit to within one, 23-22. 

Back-to-back errors would then cost Tennessee Tech the match and inevitably give Eastern Kentucky the set.

Austin Peay State swept Murray State (25-15, 25-21, 43-41) in three-sets.

Austin Peay and Murray State combined for a third set that will go down as the longest in OVC history and second longest in NCAA history.

The 43-41 final score was the highest point total for a set since Manhattan defeated Rider by a margin of 45-43 during the 2009 season which stands as the NCAA Division I record.

Austin Peay’s 43 points in the set are the second-most by a team during the current 25-point scoring system.

The third set featured 27 ties and 10 led changes and were led by junior Nikki Doyle, who had six of her team-best 15 kills in the third set alone.

Lenny Arquilla can be reached at 581-7944 or lrarquilla@eiu.edu.