CHARLESTON – SIUE volleyball hit a season high .381 as a team to collect a 25-15, 25-13, 25-12 triumph at Eastern Illinois for its fifth straight victory.
The Cougars improved to 16-6 overall and 9-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern Illinois dropped to 5-21 overall and 2-9 in the OVC.
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"Clean is the way I would describe this win," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson. "It was a good team effort."
Taylor Joens turned in a stellar .769 hitting percentage with 10 kills and no errors on 13 attacks. That is the best hitting percentage by an SIUE player with more than 10 attacks in a match during the NCAA Division I era. It is the tied for the third best attack percentage in school history.
Ashley Witt added a .500 hitting percentage with nine kills. Emily Harrison joined Joens in double figures with 10 kills.
SIUE setters Samantha Knight and Mallory Mangun recorded 22 and 16 assists, respectively, directing an offense that finished with 47 kills and added 10 blocks.
With a lopsided score, SIUE made numerous runs during the match. Johnson said the Cougars served the ball well with four service aces.
"We served tough and got them out of system," said Johnson. "We passed the all well and ran a really fast offense."
SIUE, ranked No. 6 nationally in opponent hitting percentage, held Eastern Illinois to a .059 hitting percentage with just 24 kills. Taylor Smith led the Panthers with seven kills.
The Cougars, now 8-0 on opponent home courts, travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for a 2 p.m. match Saturday at Belmont.
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