EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Eastern Illinois lost its first match of the Evansville Dunn Hospitality Tournament to Middle Tennessee on Friday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders won 3-1 (20-25 25-16, 25-22, 25-21). 

With this loss EIU falls to 0-7 on the season. The Panthers return to action tomorrow at 10 a.m. against Purdue Fort Wayne and 6 p.m. against Evansville.

In the first set, the Panthers jumped out with a 3-0 run with Laurel Bailey serving. The Blue Raiders rallied to keep it close until 16-16 when the Panthers went on a 6-0 run. Middle Tennessee never recovered from the EIU run as the Panthers won the opening set.

In the second set it was all Middle Tennessee, as MTSU got out to a fast start with a 5-0 run. EIU never could get into rhythm as they dropped the second set 25-16.
 
In the third set EIU hopped out to a 3-0 lead before Middle Tennessee quickly rallied back and tied it up 4-4.  EIU dominated the early portion of the math as they used a 4-0 run to build a 12-7 lead. The Blue Raiders had a couple runs of their own to tie it up 21-21.  They would score four of the final five points in the set to win.
 
In the final set, both teams traded punches early until Middle Tennessee gained control late with a 3-0 run that gave them some breathing room over the Panthers.  The Blue Raiders went on to win the fourth set by four points.

The Panthers were led by Maggie Runge with 11 kills.  Bailey Chandler had 34 assists. Hannah Sieg led the play at the net with three blocks.

MTSU was led by Kayla Henley with 16 kills. Taylor Hammill had 49 assists. Mikaela Weidmann let the team defensively with four blocks.