Eureka Rallies, Falls to Spalding, 3-1
EUREKA – The Eureka volleyball team nearly pushed Spalding to five sets on Friday, but the Golden Eagles rallied down the stretch and clinched a 3-1 victory over the Red Devils.
Spalding (2-1) picked up its first win of the season, 25-17, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, then took care of Iowa Wesleyan in three sets at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center.
Junior middle hitter Corinne DeBoard (Centralia, Ill./Christ Our Lutheran) led the Red Devils at the net, notching 11 kills on 47 swings with a team-high 16 digs.
Junior transfer and outside hitter Emma Harris (Streator, Ill./Streator) followed with 10 kills on 42 swings, while freshman Katelin Peters (New Berlin, Ill./New Berlin) added six kills while hitting a team-best .263.
Setter Faith Catour (Orion, Ill./Orion) racked up 31 assists and talked 14 digs. Regan Reed (Flanagan, Ill./Flanagan-Cornell) also had 14 digs, while libero Jordyn Fox (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac) tallied 13, Rori Dosemagen (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) 11 and Megan Masching (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac) 10.
The Red Devils recorded a .909 serving percentage with eight aces. Dosemagen led the team with three in her EC debut. Masching had two and Fox, Catour and DeBoard all contributed one.
For Spalding, Maggie Purichia and Samantha Robison both notched 10 kills. Mya Summers registered 32 assists and Sarah Richards posted a team-high 26 digs.
The Red Devils first set win of the season came in the third of the match. They jumped out to an 9-5 lead, but Spalding quickly rallied back to make it 10-9, prompting an EC timeout.
When play resumed, the Red Devils and the Golden Eagles went back and forth until it was knotted up at 20-20. An EC error gave Spalding a 21-20 lead after that, but that was the visitors' last of the set. Eureka claimed the next five straight points, with a kill by Harris clinching the win for the maroon and gold.
The fourth set was nearly as competitive. The Red Devils never trailed by more than four and were within one point at 20-19, but this time, the Golden Eagles were the ones who rallied to the finish line, closing on a 5-1 run.
The Red Devils (0-3) will be back in action again on Wednesday at Blackburn (0-1).