Samford University
Eastern Illinois*
Volleyball Drops Four-Game Match To Eastern Illinois
10.21.05 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team fell 3-1 to Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois on Friday night.
Samford (7-16, 3-6) lost the match 3-1 (22-30, 26-30, 30-19, 23-30), while Eastern Illinois (13-4, 9-0) extended its' winning streak to 11 games and improved to 9-0 to lead the OVC.
The Bulldogs turned in a strong defensive performance, with 71 digs and averaging 17.5 digs per game, well over their season average of 14.2. Samford also tallied 49 kills on 42 assists. The Panthers also showed a solid defense, totaling 70 assists, with four players notching double-digit digs. Heather Redenbo led Eastern Illinois with 18 digs. The Panthers tallied 63 kills, with Megan Kennedy leading the way with 14 and a .344 attack percentage.
"I was pleased with tonight's performance," said Samford head coach Michelle Durban. "Eastern Illinois is a very good team, but I was happy to see some of our younger players stay with them. Now we just have to learn how to push ahead and stay ahead."
Freshman Kirstein Sosnowski had a career night, totaling 13 digs and a .407 attack percentage. Sosnowski also tallied a career-high six digs.
"Kirstein's offensive performance helped to keep us in the game, and even her defensive performance helped us stay close," Durban said. "Overall she had a pretty good performance tonight, especially defensively."
Several other freshmen turned in strong individual performances as well. Ashley Klare and Sara Sears each tallied double-doubles. Klare picked up 10 kills and 13 digs, while Sears totaled 14 kills and 16 digs. Sears and junior Callaway Logan led the team in digs with 16. Jackie Jaszcz totaled 37 assists and eight digs as well.
The Bulldogs fought hard in game one, but came up short, losing 22-30. Overall, Samford totaled 10 kills, nine assists and 18 digs. Eastern Illinois turned in a match-high 19 kills and .289 attack percentage. Klare tallied four kills and a .444 attack percentage, while Sosnowski earned three kills, and hit .500. Sears led the team in digs with five and Jaszcz notched 8 assists.
The Bulldogs fell 26-30 in game two, totaling 12 kills and 16 digs. Eastern Illinois tallied 15 kills and 18 digs. Sosnowski turned in another five kills, and Sears added four. Sears also earned seven digs and Jaszcz added another 10 assists to the Bulldog effort.
Samford fought back to quickly win game three, 30-19. The Bulldogs tallied a match-high .262 attack percentage and 14 kills. They also earned another 18 digs and 12 assists. Klare led the team offensively with five kills and an attack percentage of .714, while Sears notched another four kills and Sosnowski added three and hit .600. Klare also picked up six digs and Logan tallied four. Jaszcz again led the team in assists, with 11.
The Bulldogs dropped the final game of the match, 23-30. Eastern Illinois totaled another 16 digs and 17 kills, while Samford turned in 19 digs and 13 kills. Sears led Samford in kills with four, while sophomore Angela Dempski contributed another three. Jaszcz and Courtney Gay each tallied four digs to lead the team and Jaszcz added eight more assists.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they play host to conference foe Southeast Missouri at 2 p.m. in Seibert Hall.
