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Despite double-digit kill efforts from Danielle Allen and Ella Collins, Eastern Illinois dropped its first home Ohio Valley Conference match of the season to SIUE, 3-1. Match scores were as followed: 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 25-22. EIU drops to 0-5 in the conference.

The Panthers started off strong in the first set winning 25-22. Ireland Hieb started the match three of four on kills with Collins adding five and Kylie Michael adding four of her own. EIU had a .217 hitting percentage compared the the Cougar's .179 percentage. Christina Martinez Mundo also added 10 digs. SIUE was led by Annie Ellis with four kills in the opening set.

After losing the first set, SIUE would go on to win the second set by a score of 25-18. Eastern's Allen went four for six on kills in the second and had help from Collins and Hieb who both had three kills, but it was not enough to beat the Cougars. SIUE posted a .320 hitting percentage in the second, and was led by Savannah Christian with six kills, and Alyse Drifka with five assists. Summerlyn Smith also posted seven assists in the set for EIU.

The third set saw SIUE increase its lead over the Panthers with a score of 25-18. Eastern faltered in their hitting percentage, only posting a .129 during that set. SIUE posted their highest hitting percentage of the night with a .371. Allen had three kills for Eastern Illinois while Bailey Chandler had four assists. The Cougars saw Sydney Hummert and Savannah Christian both collect four kills.

Eastern's night finally came to a close with SIUE winning the final set 25-22. The Panthers made it close late closing the gap to two points, but SIUE finished the match on a Michael's service error. Collins and Allen both had four kills to lead the Panthers in the fourth. The Cougars had Hummert collect three kills and six assists in the final set.

SIUE's leaders were Christian with 15 kills and two blocks, Ellis with 10 kills and 6 blocks, and Drifka with 20 assists. The Cougars' improved their record to 4-12, and picked up their first conference win of the season.

EIU was led by Collins with 13 kills, Allen with 12 kills and two blocks, Mundo with 19 digs and three assists, Smith with 24 assists, and Bailey Chandler with 22 assists on the night she was recognized for passing the 2,000 assist mark. EIU drops to 7-8 on the season.

The Panthers are back in action on Friday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. as the face-off against Southeast Missouri in Lantz Arena.