After a week off, the Lady Panthers were firing on all cylinders at the outset of the match as they went up 6-0 before the hosts took a timeout.
EP continued to dominate in all aspects of the game especially at the net as they grew their lead to 14-3 just ahead of a second stoppage in play by Mendota (7-17-2). EP’s Alaina Frank was unstoppable at the net as she hammered home several Panther points as they went up by 16 at 24-8. The large lead in the second half of the set allowed Lady Panther coach, Rachel Bramm to give several non-rotational players opportunities to play multiple points.
EP did not let up in the second set as after a tie at 2, Emma Anderson (10 digs, 2 aces) went on a serving streak delivering two aces in a stretch of 5 points to put EP in control 9-2.
Senior, Kayler Pritchard delivered an impressive block later in the set forcing the Lady Trojans to take a break trailing 13-6. She would lead the team with 3 blocks.
Frank continued her stong play as she delivered several more points to push the lead to 17-6. She would end the night with a team high 8 kills. The margin remained the same until late in the set when Mendota was able to cut the EP lead to 21-16 with several EP reserves on the court. After a timeout, the Panthers refocused and went on a 4-1 run to close out the set and the match.
“I was very pleased with the way that our squad performed against Mendota, said EP coach Rachel Bramm. “As we approach postseason, we’ve discussed the importance of polishing our performance, and I thought that the girls did just that last night. In the first set, we took a very commanding lead early on, which allowed us to have a little bit of fun by mixing up our lineup. In games that aren’t necessarily close in score, it can be difficult to stay locked in, but I thought that the girls did a great job of balancing fun with focus. The times in which we are able to accomplish that, we are truly playing at our best.”
EP (18-7-2) will host their final game of the season on Thursday as the celebrate Senior Night against Princeton.
