Sept. 10, 2000

Box Score

Villanova, Pa.-- On September 9th, at the Charlotte Tournament, Villanova Volleyball squared off with Eastern Illinois in the first match of the day. The Panthers jumped out early and often en route to defeating Villanova by the scores of 15-6, 15-2, 15-4. The match loss is Villanova's five straight, while the game loss was the Wildcats 15th straight.

Entering the day Villanova had been experiencing a slump of major proportion. Despite their recent loses the Wildcats entered the game in high spirits and with high hopes for turning things around. The match didn't start the way Villanova would have hoped as they fell behind early 5-0 on three errors and two Eastern Illinois kills. After a series of side outs, the Panthers continued to add tallies on a Villanova attack error and a block. With the score 7-0, Villanova finally adjusted and scored their first points on a kill by Katie Davis (North East, Md./North East) and an attack error by the Panthers. A Panther side out didn't stymie Villanova as they rattled off three more points on blocks by Lisa Trumbull (Rockford, Ill./Keith School) and Breen Eddinger (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), as well as a kill by Jennifer Edwards (Valencia, Calif./Valencia). Eastern Illinois responded well, achieving a side out and adding two more kills to bring the score to 10-5. Villanova fought back with an ace from Eddinger, but allowed another side out. The Panthers in turn took advantage of several Wildcat attack errors to put away Villanova 15-6.

Statistically for Villanova, they could only muster three kills from Edwards, Trumbull, and senior Tina Zitterich (Ames, Iowa/Gilbert). The Panthers were lead by two kills a piece from Karen Liss (Cary, Ill.) and Carrie Stevens (Schaumburg, Ill.).

Game two got off to a better start for Villanova with the Wildcats scoring first on a Panther error. A series of side outs followed with Eastern Illinois taking advantage of their opportunities and tallying two points on a kill and an ace. With the score 2-1, Villanova stumbled. After a nice kill by Trumbull they were hurt by poor serving and then poor passing. The Panthers again took advantage recording the next eleven points on poor hitting by Villanova and good hitting by Eastern Illinois. Down 13-1, Villanova earned a side out on a huge block by Eddinger. Edwards responded for the Wildcats with a nicely placed kill. The Wildcats effort was not good enough as the Panthers ended the match 15-2.

Statistically for Villanova, Edwards recorded two kills and seven assists. For Eastern Illinois Amy Heimann(Germantown, Ill.) tallied five kills, while Rebecca Ooyen added 14 assists.

In game three, Villanova head coach Heather Hoehn went with a more experienced lineup when she replaced Edwards with senior Erin Pfotzer (Newark, Del./Christiana). Pfotzer's presence made an early differnece as the Wildcats stormed to a 4-2 lead. Eastern Illinois didn't stay behind for long as they gained the lead 8-4 on several Villanova errors and a huge block. In response, Villanova earned a side out on a perfectly placed kill by Pfotzer. The Wildcats couldn't capitalize as Karen Liss earned the side out for Eastern Illinois. The Panthers Carrie Stevens responded with a kill and Rebecca Ooyen added an ace. After a Villanova side out on a kill by Zitterich, Eastern Illinois responded with kills from Stevens and Amy Heinmann to take a commanding 13-4 advantage. For the second straight day the Wildcats were plagued with poor serving late in the match. Th Panthers took the Villanova errors and finished off the Wildcats 15-4, winning the match 3-0.

Statistically for Villanova, Pfotzer tallied two kills and seven assists.

With the loss Villanova falls to 1-5 on the season, while Eastern Illinois improves to 3-2.

Villanova will be in action next at 4:30 PM when they battle Highpoint (N.C.) in their final match of the two-day tournament.