The Eastern volleyball team’s chances for an Ohio Valley Conference title suffered a devastating blow on Friday at Austin Peay. The Panthers lost to the Lady Govs in four games.

Defense was the key for Austin Peay, as it out-dug Eastern 101-97. The Panthers lost only their second match on the road this season in the 30-25, 23-30, 30-21, 30-21 tilt. Eastern is 11-2 in matches away from Lantz Arena.

“They dug almost all the hard hits we had at them,” Eastern volleyball coach Brenda Winkeler said. “That just frustrated us.”

Eastern’s offensive attack suffered greatly as a result of the staunch Austin Peay ‘D.’ The Panthers had an attack percentage of .163 while the Lady Govs hit .204.

Eastern freshman Erica Gerth and senior Carrie Stevens each led the squad with 15 kills.

However, the Lady Govs (14-10, 7-6 in the OVC) had four players in double-figure kills, an attack similar to what Eastern has thrived on in recent matches. Senior Andrea Preston led Austin Peay with a match-high 16 kills.

The Panthers (16-7, 10-3) were out-blocked 9-7.

“Our defense has been getting better,” Winkeler said. “But when you work on one thing the other (blocking) starts to go.”

Senior Amy Heimann led the Panthers in defense with 22 digs and Marcia Hahn led the team with three blocks.

Winkeler said her team didn’t overlook the Lady Governors, instead, they were simply out-matched by Austin Peay’s defense.

“This time of year you can’t overlook anyone and I really don’t think we did,” Winkeler said. “It’s getting close to tournament time and everyone is looking for wins, so anyone can beat anyone else on any given night.”

With the loss, Eastern has four matches left, all of which are at Lantz Arena – three are against opponents in the OVC, with the only non-conference game coming this Tuesday against Western Illinois.

“We’re just going to try to win out our last four matches and get some momentum for the postseason,” Winkeler said. “We’ve got to put this one behind us.”