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CHARLESTON, Ill. -  The Eastern Illinois volleyball team fell just short against Lindenwood on Friday night, losing 3-2 in an exciting five-set contest. It was their first conference loss of the season, bringing their record to 6-1. The Panthers now stand at 16-2 on the year. The final set scores of tonight's match were as follows: 20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 13-15.

In the opening set, EIU took an early 7-5 lead behind a 5-0 run. However, Lindenwood weathered the storm and responded by outscoring the Panthers 13-6 on their way to a 18-13 lead. Eastern was able to cut the deficit to two points but pulled no closer, as the Lions held off the Panthers to take a 1-0 lead. An uncharacteristic six service errors from EIU and a strong Lindenwood attack (.526 PCT.) were the story of the set.

The Panthers responded in set two, jumping out to a 10-3 lead and never allowing the Lions to pull within closer than five points for the remainder of the set. Natalie Mitchem led the EIU offense with five kills, while Catalina Rochaix racked up 13 assists to help Eastern even up the match.

EIU led for much of the third set and were up 20-16 late. However, the Lions rallied to outscore the Panthers 9-2 down the stretch to steal the set. The Eastern offense struggled to find a consistent rhythm in the set, but Giovana Larregui López led the team in scoring with 4.5 points on three kills and three block assists. Kate Dean also had a big set at the net with four blocks.

The Panthers once again bounced back in the fourth set, leading by as many as nine points (22-13) and stifling any Lindenwood rally attempts on their way to evening up the match. Larregui López once again led the EIU offense, this time with 5.0 points on four kills and a service ace. EIU combined for three service aces in the set, doubling their match total to that point. Julia Stanev had a pair of solo blocks in the set to bring EIU's team total to 8.0.

In the deciding set, the Panthers were unable to overcome a five-point deficit, but it was not for lack of trying. Trailing 12-7, Eastern mounted a furious rally to pull within one point on two occasions. Unfortunately, the Lions had just enough gas left in the tank to hold off the Panthers and close out the match.

The EIU attack was led by Giovana Larregui López, who finished the evening with a match-high 18 kills. She also tallied two service aces and five blocks.

Natalie Mitchem had a strong offensive showing with 16 kills on an efficient .351 hitting percentage. She also added three blocks to her scoring efforts.

Kate Dean recorded seven kills on a .353 hitting percentage. She was followed by Kaitlyn Flynn with six kills and Julia Stanev with five kills. Dean and Stanev both recorded six blocks, including two solo for Stanev, as the Panthers totaled 12.0 as a team.

Catalina Rochaix tallied a total of 45 assists on the night for an average of 9.0 assists per set. She also had four kills and seven digs in the match.

Christina Martinez Mundo led the match with 20 digs. She was followed by Laura Paniagua, who had 12 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception percentage.

EIU will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon, when they rematch with Lindenwood at 4 p.m. in Lantz Arena.