Eastern Illinois (9-14, 2-11 OVC) comes back down 2-1 to defeat the Lady Tigers of Tennessee State (9-13, 1-12 OVC) 3-2. These were the set scores for the match: 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12. This is the first time the Panthers have won back-to-back games since defeating Alabama State and USC Upstate in the Southern Illinois Saluki Tournament.
The Panthers handled the Lady Tigers in the first set winning 25-20. EIU out hit Tennessee State .176 to -0.29.
Danielle Allen led the way for Eastern as she collected five kills in the first set.
Summerlyn Smith started her career night off with 10 assists in the first.
Ashley Sharkus also had six digs. TSU was led by Kendall Washington who had three kills, and Aria Holmes added two block assists in the set.
In a close second set, the Lady Tigers edged out the Panthers by a score of 24-26. Tennessee State clawed out to a 5-0, but the Panthers fought back the whole set. Allen continued to play aggressive on offense as she collected seven more kills, while Smith added 10 more assists.
Ella Collins also provided four kills. TSU had two Lady Tigers collect four kills with Holmes and Aleksandra Rojecka. TSU held EIU to a .000 hitting percentage.
Tennessee State took the lead in the third as they defeated the Panthers 23-25. Defense was key for the Tigers as they had eight team blocks in the third set. EIU was held to just a .159 hitting percentage in the set.
Ireland Hieb collected eight kills while Smith added 14 to her total.
Kameryn Sillmon also had three kills. The Lady Tigers were led by Rayna Williams with four kills and Aniya Williams with four kills.
With the Panthers facing defeat, EIU picked up their second set win in the fourth winning 25-20. Posting a .233 hitting percentage, the Panthers as a team had 14 kills in the set. Collins had five while Hieb had four for EIU. The Panthers had four blocks in the fourth. Tennessee State saw Homes, Rojecka, and Mion Weldon all have three kills in the set.
The winning continued into the final set as EIU outlasted the Lady Tigers 15-12.
Elisavet Papageorgiou and Hieb had two key blocks in the fifth that gave momentum to the Panthers. Collins added two kills while Smith had six assists. TSU's Kristian Marshall had three assists while A. Williams collected two kills. EIU would go on to win 3-2.
Tennessee State was led by A. Williams with 12 kills and four block assists, Holmes with 10 kills and four block assists, and Weldon with eight kills and six block assists. The Lady Tigers drop to 9-13 on the season with an 1-12 record in the OVC.
EIU improves to 9-14 on the year, and moving up in the OVC with a 2-11 record. They were led by Allen with 17 kills and three block assists, Smith with a career high 53 assists and 14 digs, Hieb with 16 kills and four block assists, Collins with 14 kills, and Papageorgiou with five service aces and four block assists.
The Panthers are back in action tomorrow afternoon Saturday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. to faceoff against Tennessee State. LiveStats and ESPN+ will be made available.
