The first set was a close throughout with neither team gaining more than a three point advantage. The set saw ten ties but with Kewanee holding the advantage most of the match. The Lady Boilers held a 1 or 2 point advantage until EP tied the set at 10. The Lady Panthers finally gained a brief lead 13-12 before Kewanee responded to go up 18-16. Following a Panther timeout EP roared back to go up 20-19. The teams battled to a 23-all tie before the Lady Boilers collected the final two point for a 25-23 win.
After a 2-2 tie in the second set Kewanee went on an 8-3 run to grab a 10-5 lead. EP battled back with a 4-0 run to get within 1 at 10-9. With the set tied at 12, Kewanee went on a 3-0 run but the Panthers fought back for 16-16 tie. The squads taded points and arrived at a 20-20 tie. EP scored the next two points with Kewanee calling time. Up 23-22, Kayler pritchard delivered a sledge hammer kill and she combined with Zoey Stuart on a block to secure the win 25-22.
The deciding set started as the previous two with Kewanee getting an early lead at 5-3 but they quickly expanded it to 9-3. Trailing 12-5 EP scored four unanswered to close it to 12-9. The Lady Boilers grew their advantage back to 6 at 17-11. Following a timeout, EP rotated Alaina Frank into the serving position and the moved paid off as she helped the Panthers reel off six consecutive points to take an 18-17 lead. Undaunted, Kewanee strung together five consecutive points to take a commanding 23-19 lead and went on to win the set 25-21.
“It was a tough loss tonight, but I’m very proud of the way the girls played, “commented EP coach Rachel Bramm. “Although we didn’t have the best night on the stat sheet, they played with a lot of heart out there. There were several times when we could have simply given up but they continued to fight back, even with their backs completely against the wall. We knew that we were going to have our work cut out for us against Kewanee, as they are good on both sides of the ball. Tonight really couldn’t have been more evenly matched, and they ended up with the upper hand tonight. We’re looking forward to seeing them again later in the season and hope that we can return the favor.”
EP Stats
Alaina Frank: 12 kills, 9 digs, 3 aces
Kayler Pritchard: 10 kills (0.529), 3 blocks
Ellah Brooks: 20 digs, 1 ace
Lia Milem: 20 assists, 3 kills, 10 digs
The loss was the first in conference play for the Panthers as they fall to 3-1. The Lady Boilers move to 5-1. EP will travel to take on Newman next Monday.
