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CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (14-13, 8-6 OVC) lost their opening weekend match against the number two ranked team in the Ohio Valley Conference, Tennessee Tech ( 15-12, 12-3 OVC), by a final score of 3-1. EIU fought hard to force a set five but fell just short. The set scores were: 14-24, 25-20, 21-25, 26-28.

Eastern's offense went up-and-down Friday evening as EIU posted 54 kills, but had 34 attack errors as a team. EIU only allowed 50 kills to Tennessee Tech, but the Golden Eagles were able to hit .287 percentage compared to the Panthers' hitting percentage of .138.

The duo of Kaitlyn Flynn and Giovana Larregui Lopez led the way for the Panthers offense with 16 and 17 kills each. Flynn was able to extend her double digit kill streak to 15 straight matches. Larregui Lopez led the team in kills and digs with 13. It marked her 12th double-double of the season.

Ireland Hieb and Annika Black made their presence known from the middle blocker and opposite positions. Hieb had eight kills on a efficient .700 hitting percentage. It was her most kills since Sept. 2 against Chicago State (nine). Black had six kills which was her most since Sept. 9 against Purdue Fort Wayne (seven).

Despite the loss, Catalina Rochaix had a career day with a match and career high 44 assists to lead all setters. Rochaix previous career high was 43 assists. She also had a .423 setting percentage while posting 44 of a possible 54 kills by the Panthers.

Christina Martinez Mundo only had 12 digs, but ever one was important for the Panther defense. Martinez Mundo was all over the court, diving for key balls that would help the Panthers keep a rally alive or score a point. She also had four assists and one ace.

The Golden Eagle defense kept EIU off the board for most of the match. Tennessee Tech only allowed EIU to hit over .100% in one of the four sets (set two - .519%). TTU also had 17 total blocks compared to EIU's six. Hieb and Block both had three block assists.

Tennessee Tech was led by Taylor Dorsey with 14 kills and Madolyn Isringhausen with 12 kills. Skylar Boom and Morgan Gish were both stout on defense at the net with 10 and nine block assists each. Jordan Karlen also had 43 assists to lead TTU to the win.

The Panthers will be back tomorrow at 4 p.m. to take on the Golden Eagles for match two. It will also be senior day with festivites taking place before the start of the match. The match will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.