Purdue Fort Wayne
Eastern Illinois
Mastodons Toppled 3-1 in Season Opener
8/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons dropped their season opener to the Panthers of Eastern Illinois University in the third match of the IPFW Invitational on Friday, August 28. The Panthers won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-21, before IPFW rebounded in the third set with a 25-19 victory; however, the 'Dons could not keep the momentum, falling in the fourth set 25-16.
Rebekah Roehm smashed a game-high 20 kills on 47 attempts, with Jen Krumwiede adding 10. Freshman Megan Steenhuysen, in her first game in the Blue and White, dished out 37 assists in a reserve role, while Jamie Schwartz dug up 13 kill attempts. The loss in the first game of the season is the fourth straight for IPFW.
IPFW opened the match strong with back-to-back points to open a 2-0 lead before EIU rebounded with five straight, and never trailed for the remainder of the first set. Even though the Panthers could not pull away during the match - their largest lead at any time was six points at 13-7 - IPFW was unable to close the gap to any fewer than two, including at 21-19, following a third-straight Maya Schlindwein scoring serve. After closing the gap to a pair, Eastern Illinois rattled off three straight points to lead 24-19, and won the set 25-21.
Eastern Illinois jumped out quickly in the second set, scoring the first four points of the set; however, the feisty Mastodon squad kept fighting back, and eventually tied the match at 18 apiece following a Stephanie Lamberti kill. The teams went back-and-forth, and were tied at 21 apiece before four straight Mastodon attack errors sent the hosts into the wrong end of a 25-21 second-set score.
Coming out of the break between the second and third set, IPFW came out firing on all cylinders, and opened a 12-6 lead early in the third frame following a kill by Taryn Parker. The lead was cut to a pair at 14-12, before the Mastodons opened up three straight points to lead 17-12. The 'Dons kept their foot on the gas pedal for the remainder of the third set, and cruised to a 25-19 set victory.
In the fourth and eventual final set of the match, Eastern jumped ahead 4-1 to start the frame, as IPFW was not able to respond, closing to as close as two at 14-12 following a Roehm kill; however a 4-1 Panther run pushed the visitors ahead 19-13, as they coasted on in for the 25-16 fourth-set score.
Schlindwein added nine kills for IPFW, and had both of the team's service aces in the game while adding nine digs for the near double-double. Three other players, Roehm, Tessa McGill, and Steenhuysen each dug up eight kill attempts, with Parker leading the way for IPFW with two total blocks.
Alex Zwettler had a team-high 16 kills for Eastern Illinois, with Kelsey Orr adding 11. Kylie Cavanah dished out 46 assists, with five players, Brittany Wallace (21), Orr (11), Cavanah (11), Zwettler (11), and Jessica Wheeler (10) each picking up double-figure digs. Melanie Boykins added a game-high six blocks, with Stephanie Arnold and Wheeler adding five.
Overall, IPFW had more kills than Eastern Illinois 53-to-50; however, it was EIU's 12-4 margin in blocks, and 68-63 in digs that secured the win for the visitors.
The Mastodons look to rebound later tonight, as the squad plays in the first day's final match, tentatively scheduled for 7:00 PM against Butler at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
~Dons~
