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CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois defeats Missouri-St. Louis in their lone preseason match of the season by a final score of 3-1. EIU was lead by three Panthers who amassed 10 kills each. Finals scores of each set are as followed: 25-17, 13-25, 25-11, 25-21.

Ella Collins, Elisavet Papageorgiou and Giovana Larrequi Lopez all sparked EIU's offense as each posted 10 kills during the match. This trio helped the Panthers hit for a .190 percentage against the Tritons which included a .314 percentage in the third set. EIU combined for 54 kills tonight compared to the Triton's 31.

The Panthers' offense was all about sharing the wealth tonight as three different setters had at least 10 assists. Catalina Rochaix lead the way with 19 assists while Summerlyn Smith and Sylvia Hasz posted 13 and 11 respectively. 

Defense also helped EIU to the win as liberos Christina Martinez Mundo and Ashley Sharkus combined for 18 digs. Lopez and Rochaix also delivered 10 and 11 digs. EIU totaled 68 digs compared to USML's 48. 

The freshman class performed well during their first career matches at EIU. Kate Dean went four for seven on kills and added a block to her night. Tori Mohesky added six kills in her opening performance along with three digs. Lilli Amettis also added a kill against the Tritons.

USML's Charlotte Richards led her team with 14 kills while Lexi Rang added another six for the Tritons. Caitlin Bishop was their leading passer with 13 assists.

Eastern will start their regular season next Friday, Aug. 26 at the Butler Top Dawg Tournament held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. EIU will start the tournament going against Butler and finishing against Akron and Oakland University. Livestats and video will be made available for these matches.