Greenville Outlasts Eureka in Four-Set Triumph

By Nathan Schertz.

EUREKA -- Eureka rode a major wave of momentum midway through Wednesday's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Greenville, but the Panthers used a fast start and held off the Red Devils late as well to secure a 25-11, 22-25, 25-10, 29-27 victory over the Red Devils at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center.

For the Red Devils, Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) led the team with 34 total attacks and tied Runa Akagawa (Saitama, Japan/Ritsumeikan Keisho) and Kary Langan (Lakewood, Ill./Shelbyville H.S.) for the team lead with nine kills.

In the first set, the Red Devils fell behind early after an 11-point rally thanks to service from Abby Freeman and eventually dropped the set 25-11 in favor of Greenville.

In set two, the Red Devils fell behind by four until a run of five consecutive points on Dooley's service to bring the Red Devils even. The teams battled throughout the second set the Red Devils would eventually take the set 25-22 to even the match one game apiece. 

In the third set, the Red Devils couldn't establish solid footing and would eventually dropped the set 25-10 in favor of Greenville. 

The fourth set was an entertaining set that saw both teams go back and forth. Each team seized the lead multiple times and Eureka would break Greenville's serve three times late before GU would prevail to take the set and the match with a 29-27 set victory.

The Red Devils will bring their season to a close this Saturday at 11 a.m. against MacMurray at the Reagan Athletic Complex. EC will host its Senior Day festivities in conjunction with the event, honoring four-year seniors Dooley, Haley Holzem (Normal, Ill./Normal West H.S.) and Heather Robinson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) during a pregame ceremony.