The NCAA released its first RPI volleyball rankings of the season on Monday, and Eastern Illinois was ranked 68^th out of 344 Division I teams.

They are the highest ranked OVC team, with Southeast Missouri being the next closest at No. 95.

The Panthers are the second highest ranked team in the state of Illinois, only trailing Northwestern who came in at the No. 49 position.

The high ranking adds to their list of achievements this season and is another sign of how far the Eastern Illinois volleyball program has come since 2020.

When Head Coach Sara Thomas took over the program in 2020, the Panthers were coming off a season in which they finished with a 3-26 overall record and a 1-15 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Following a 2-14 record in the pandemic shortened 2020 season, EIU has shown nothing but consistent progress under Thomas' leadership.

The team improved by nine wins in 2021 and qualified for their first OVC Tournament since 2017. Then in 2022, the Panthers finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2017 and made their second consecutive OVC Tournament appearance.

Last season saw the emergence of key players, including OVC Player of the Year Giovana Larregui López, and All-Conference selections Christina Martinez Mundo and Kaitlyn Flynn. Larregui López's player of the year award was the first for a Panthers volleyball player since Erica Gerth won it in 2004, and it was the first time three EIU players had received All-Conference honors since 2014.

Now, in 2023, the Panthers are off to the best start in program history with a 14-1 overall record that includes a 4-0 mark in OVC play. EIU is one of just ten remaining teams with one or fewer losses, and their .933 winning percentage is the highest among teams with a loss. Four different Panthers have already won OVC Player of the Week awards, including Larregui López and Martinez Mundo, along with Catalina Rochaix and Natalie Mitchem.

You can catch the Panthers in action this Thursday and Friday as they take on Morehead State in Lantz Arena. Thursday's match is set to begin at 6 p.m. while Friday's is scheduled for 4 p.m.