The Panthers swept the undefeated-in-conference Morehead State Friday in a shocking Ohio Valley Conference match-up.

The Panthers lost their opening match this season to Morehead State, who have beaten them the last nine match-ups.

The Panthers showed a spark on both offense and defense to dethrone the 18-6 Morehead State, giving them their first conference loss.

Head coach Kate Price said she is very proud of what the team accomplished. She said Morehead State was the heavy favorite and the win was very unexpected.

Earning one of the biggest upsets in school history, the Panther team showed that although its record may not show it, it is a threat to the OVC.

The Panthers ended Morehead State’s impressive 16-match OVC home winning streak in dramatic fashion as Eastern limited the league-leaders to a low .070 attack, thanks to 16 blocks, a new school record.

Junior Alison Berens hit seven blocks and seven kills. The dynamic duo of junior Emily Franklin and sophomore Reynae Hutchinson scored 10 kills a piece and seven and six digs, respectively. Senior Brittany Wallace recorded 15 digs.

Price said when the team has a good night, she can see a momentum change in the team.

Against Eastern Kentucky, however, the Panthers could not prevail, and lost in a 3-2 nail-biter.

The Panthers had everything going right with four players nailing double-digits kills, including Franklin with a career high 24, and Hutchinson with her 14th career double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs.

Eastern Kentucky, however, had strong performances from Ashley Edmond and Hanna Burkle, whom had 17 kills and 14 kills, respectively.

Libero Dena Ott recorded a team-high 22 digs and the Panthers have now lost the last nine meetings against Eastern Kentucky.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels improve to 12-13 overall and 7-7 in the OVC while the Panthers split the weekend and move to 9-18 overall and 6-10 in conference play.

The Panthers will have one final road match this Tuesday, traveling to Murray State for a 7 p.m. OVC contest before coming home to play three consecutive league matches to finish the regular-season.

Lenny Arquilla can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected]