The Panthers bounce back against the Lindenwood University Lions to win in four sets.
After coming off a 3-2 loss on Friday night, the Panthers came into Saturday’s match looking to get back on track.
Head Coach Sara Thomas spoke about the adjustments they made coming into Saturday.
“Discipline, playing panther volleyball and controlling our controllables,” Thomas said.
This is the Panthers 17th win of the season which is the most for Thomas in season at Eastern. 17 wins is also the most for Eastern in a season since 2013 where they went 18-12.
“It’s great and all, it’s about them,” Thomas said. “How we can keep this train going forward.”
The first set started slowly for Eastern, going down 7-4 early. A Panther’s timeout gave them time to recoup, and then they outscored the Lions 8-4 in the next couple minutes to give them a 13-10 lead and they never looked back. The Panthers won the first set 25-20.
The second set went back and forth between both teams. During the set the lead changed 10 times. With the match coming down to the wire, the Panthers were able to string together four straight points to win the set 25-23.
The Panthers started the third set off hot with a 6-1 lead. After a couple errors by the Panthers the Lions were able to get back in the match and eventually took a 20-18 lead late in the match and they went on to win 25-20.
The fourth set was the best set for the Panthers. They jumped out to an 8-3 lead and never let it get closer than that. The Panthers closed out the win scoring six unanswered points and they won 25-14
Graduate outside hitter Natalie Mitchem led the match with 19 kills, followed by senior outside hitter Giovana Larregui Lopez with 12. Sophomore setter Catalina Rochaix led the match in assists with 46 of Eastern’s 54 assists, and she had two less than Lindenwood’s entire team.
Mitchem and freshman middle blocker Julia Stanev both led the match in blocks with six. Mitchem also led the match in points with 22. Senior libero Christina Martinez Mundo led the match in digs with 23.
The Panthers will travel to Tennessee Tech University to play the Golden Knights on Friday at 6 p.m.
Cameron Thomas can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.
