Volleyball Coasts to 3-0 Win Over Visiting Panthers

Emily Hughes records a match-best 13 kills while not committing a single attack error

Oct. 16, 2009

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (Friday, October 16, 2009) – The Redhawks volleyball team snapped a four-match Ohio Valley Conference losing streak with a dominating 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) win over Eastern Illinois at Houck Field House on Friday evening. The Redhawks set a new season best in attack percentage for the second-straight match as they finished with a .250 clip on Friday.

In the opening frame the Redhawks (8-12, 4-6 OVC) and Panthers (7-16, 1-10 OVC) played tight until a 8-1 run by the Redhawks gave them a 13-6 lead. That lead swelled to 20-11, the Redhawks largest of the set. Sophomore Paige Dossey (Avon/Avon, Ind.) put an end to the set with a kill to give the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage.

Despite the final score the second set was the match’s closest as it featured nine ties and five lead changes. All of those occurred early in the set as the Redhawks 8-2 run to close the match proved to be the difference. The Redhawks held the Panthers to a .043 attack percentage in the set.

The final set was all Redhawks as they used 17 kills and a .366 attack percentage to put away the Panthers. The Redhawks led by as much as seven points, 21-14 and used a 3-0 run to end the set and secure the match victory.

For the match the Redhawks had 45 kills to the Panthers 36 kills.

Emily Hughes (St. Benedict/Memphis, Tenn.) was unstoppable in the middle for the Redhawks once again. She led all players with 13 kills and finished with a match-best .464 attack percentage. She had her first errorless match of the season. Defensively she finished with a match-best four block assists,

Karleigh DeLong (Santiago/Corona, Calif.) had a team-high 32 swings and finished with 11 kills for a .219 attack percentage. She just missed out on a double-double with nine digs.

Kelly Benacka (Jacobs/Algonquin, Ill.) recorded her team-best tenth in 11 matches. She had a match-best 43 assists and recorded ten digs.

Claire Keaton (Incarnate Word Academy/St. Louis, Mo.) also missed out on a double-double with 13 digs and nine kills. She did finish with a season-high .350 attack percentage.

Emily Maher (Marcus/Flower Mound, Texas.) had seven kills and a .353 attack percentage. Defensively she finished with three block assists.

Molly Davis (Burris/Muncie, Ind.) led all players with 16 digs from her libero position. Amanda Rickhoff (Southwestern Illinois College/Bartelso, Ill.) joined Davis in double figures with 11 digs.

The Panthers were led by Melanie Boykins with 12 kills. Chrissie Albers recorded a double-double with team-highs of 34 assists and 15 digs.

The Redhawks won their eighth-straight match over the Panthers and improved to 13-3 at Houck Field House against the Panthers.

The Panthers lost their eighth-straight match of the season and lost their fifth-straight away from Lantz Arena.

The Redhawks will look to extend their current winning streak to three-straight matches as they conclude their five-match homestand on Tuesday against non-conference regional rival SIUC. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. The match will be web-streamed live on www.kfvs12.com.