The conference foes met for the first time this season in the championship match of the tournament. The loss snapped the Panther’s 22 game winning streak.
The tournament started with a match against Kewanee with the Panthers getting the win in three sets.
EP then took on Mendon Unity who gave the Panthers a good battle with EP getting the win in straight sets 25-19, 25-22. After their second win of the day Peoria was next up for the Panthers. EP quickly dispatched the Lions in straight sets 25-9, 25-11. That win set up a battle with the host Tigers who brought in a 23-3 season record.
The Panthers were forced to play their final two games of the day without Kaylee Keagan, who is the floor general on the Panther offense. Keegan sprained her ankle in the second game of the day.
The Panthers got out to a 5-2 lead early and grew it to a four point advantage at 10-6. the Tigers went on a run outscoring EP 9-1 to go up 15-11. The Panthers clawed back to tie the set at 18 and retake the lead 20-18. The teams traded points to a 23 all tie before the Tigers got the 25-23 win.
The second set was a different story as Sherrard went up 6-1 and continued to add on to the lead going up 13-6 before the Panthers took a timeout. EP had no answer for the Tigers as they went up 20-12 and went on to a 25-17 win.
“We had a good day of volleyball for our last tournament of the regular season. The team lost a tough game against a really talented Sherrard squad, but are overall happy with the 3-1 finish,” said EP coach Rachel Bramm. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to meet up again with Sherrard in the postseason for a highly anticipated rematch.”
The 29-3 (10-0) Panthers will travel to Sterling on Tuesday to take on Newman.
