Red Devils Drop Conference Contests in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Eureka women's volleyball team continued SLIAC play on Saturday, falling in a pair of matches to Blackburn and Spalding in a tri-match hosted by the Golden Eagles.

Game 1: Blackburn 3, Eureka 0

Eureka (4-10, 0-5 SLIAC) dropped the opener to Blackburn (9-9, 3-2 SLIAC) in straight sets, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23

The Red Devils battled throughout, nearly taking the first and third sets. In the opener, Eureka levelled the set at 19-19 before Blackburn closed with a 6-3 run. The Red Devils again pushed the Beavers late in Set 3, rallying to take a 23-22 lead before Blackburn took the final three points to secure the sweep.

Alyssa Company (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln Community) led the Red Devils with 14 kills, 14 digs, and an ace. Brooklyn Shell (Evansville, Ind./Mount Vernon) added seven kills, two aces, and eight digs, while Colbie Grieff (South Wilmington, Ill./Gardner South-Wilmington) chipped in six kills and seven digs. Bre Dixon (Newark, Ill./Newark Community) paced the setters with 22 assists and 10 digs, and Cloee O'Donoghue (Emden, Ill./Hartsburg-Emden) notched 13 digs and two aces.

Game 2: Spalding 3, Eureka 1

In the second match, Eureka (4-11, 0-6 SLIAC) struck first but ultimately fell to Spalding (4-11, 2-5 SLIAC) in four sets, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23

The Red Devils controlled Set 1 with a strong start, hitting .375 in the frame and building an early 13-5 lead. Despite a few runs by Spalding, Eureka remained in control and took the opening set 25-18. However, Spalding responded by taking the next three sets. The Golden Eagles seized control early in the second and never looked back, then raced to a 13-0 lead in the third before closing it out 25-20. In the fourth, Eureka pulled even at 21, but Spalding finished on a 4-2 run to seal the match in four sets.

Company once again paced Eureka with 13 kills, five aces, and 16 digs for a team-high 19 points. Shell followed with 11 kills, while Hallee Gauna (Arcola, Ill./Arcola) added eight kills on .353 hitting. Dixon tallied 15 assists and 15 digs, and Claire Schaffner (Delavan, Ill./Delavan) contributed 13 assists. O'Donoghue anchored the defense with 12 digs, and Lexi Liaromatis (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) chipped in eight digs.

UP NEXT

The Red Devils will step out of conference play on Tuesday, traveling to Beloit for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.