RICHMOND, Ky. – September 30, 2023
Eastern Kentucky University’s volleyball team tied the program record with its 13th straight win on Saturday, a 3-0 victory at home against the University of Central Arkansas.
The streak of 13 straight wins ties the program mark set by the 2004 team.
Senior Josie Schmitendorf also surpassed 1,000 career digs in the match. She finished with a match-best 16 digs and now has 1,015 for her career.
The duo of Sarah Mitchell and A.G. Vandagriff led the offensive attack for the second straight match. For the second straight match, Mitchell did not have a hitting error, finishing with 16 kills and a .593 attack percentage. Vandagriff had just one error, 10 kills and a .375 attack percentage.
The Colonels (14-2, 4-0 ASUN) trailed 11-10 after a service error in the first set. However, EKU immediately responded with a 7-1 run to seize control. Mitchell capped it with a pair of kills to give the home team a 17-12 advantage. A kill from Kambree Lucas finished off the first set, 25-17, and staked the Colonels to a 1-0 lead.
Central Arkansas (6-11, 0-4 ASUN) grabbed an early 3-1 lead in the second set before EKU scored seven unanswered. Back-to-back errors from the Sugar Bears made it 8-3. Another UCA error put the Colonels ahead 11-6. Two more miscues pushed the visitor’s deficit to 17-11. Mitchell connected on a kill for a 21-14 lead. UCA’s seventh error in the set ended it, 25-19, and put EKU out in front 2-0.
With the third set tied 3-3, the Sugar Bears made three straight errors and the Colonels led the rest of the way. Central Arkansas made 11 errors in the third, including one that put EKU ahead 12-6. A kill from Carson Ledford gave EKU a 16-8 advantage. Two more UCA attack errors made it 20-10. In fitting fashion, Mitchell finished off the set, 25-12, with a kill.
EKU made only five errors in the entire match and hit .381. Central Arkansas finished with 22 errors and a .158 attack percentage. The Colonels had a 6-2 edge in blocks and a 6-0 advantage in aces.
Laci Bohannan led UCA with 14 kills.
The Colonels will return to action on Friday at Lipscomb. The match in Nashville is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET.
