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CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball scratched past visiting Illinois-Chicago in a four-set thriller (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22) on Monday as three Panthers nailed double-digit kills.  Riding a three-match winning streak, EIU improves to 7-15 overall after earning the program's fourth straight victory over the Flames.

Sophomore Reynae Hutchinson led all Panthers with 18 kills and added 12 digs to nab her third consecutive double-double of the season.  That moves the Mattoon native's yearly tally to eight and 11 all-time in her Panther career as she also registered a .297 attack clip.

Junior Emily Franklin and senior Alison Berens chipped in 16 and 12 kills, respectively, while Berens led all players on the court with a .300 attack.  Franklin and Berens had a scary moment towards the end of the first set as both players went for a ball and ended up butting heads, forcing a bloodied Franklin to sit out the next set and change uniform numbers prior to her return in the third and fourth frames.

Franklin made the most of her return back to the floor as she garnered her third career double-double with the addition of 11 digs to her 16 total put-aways, all in just three sets of work.  She also hit .279 for the match

Senior setter Chrissie Albers dished out 55 assists off the 60 total Panther kills and came just two digs shy of her fourth straight assist-dig duo-duo of her own.

Senior libero Brittany Wallace shined in the back row with a season-high 26 digs, just two short of her career mark.

In net defense, the Panthers were led in blocking by Albers and Berens six stuffs apiece, while sophomore Stephanie Arnold added five of her own.  Overall, the Panthers won the blocking game over UIC by a 11.5 to nine margin.

In other team stats, EIU also were victorious for kills (60 to 52), attack (.192 to .131), assists (58 to 48), digs (74 to 70), and points (7.25 to 62.0).  Both squads managed just one service ace apiece as the two teams combined for 30 tie scores and 20 lead changes.

The Flames (12-9) were led by Kelsey Safranek's 21 kills, while Nicole Allgood added 12 kills and added a double-double with 15 digs.  Setter Mary Kate Imrie earned her own assist-dig duo-duo with 43 assists and 10 ups.  Janise Dismuke led the defense with six blocks, while libero Maggie Strus led with 17 digs.  The loss by UIC was the first four-set defeat for the Flames this season.

The Panthers will now prepare for two key home matchups, hosting Tennessee State and Austin Peay on Friday and Saturday evenings, with first serves set for 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.  This weekend is not only Homecoming for EIU, but the program will be celebrating Panther Volleyball's 30th season as a NCAA Division I program with a large group of alumni expected to return for an awards luncheon.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID