Tweet #WinTheMoment   |  Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team won three straight sets to take down Southeast Missouri on Friday night by a score of 3-1 (13-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14). The win moved the Panthers' OVC record to 10-1 and secured sole possession of first place. They are now 20-2 overall.

The opening set did not go EIU's way, with SEMO leading the entire frame. The Redhawks used eight unanswered points midway through the set to gain what proved to be an insurmountable lead. Natalie Mitchem and Giovana Larregui López both had three kills in the set, but Eastern struggled to find an offensive rhythm, hitting just .059 as a team.

Set two was tightly contested for most of the way through, but after SEMO went ahead 17-16, EIU closed the set out on a 9-3 run that included three consecutive kills from Kate Dean, who led the set with six. Mitchem and Larregui López matched each other again with four kills as Catalina Rochaix handed out 13 assists. Meanwhile, Christina Martinez Mundo recorded a pair of service aces to help ignite EIU's scoring.

The Panther attack really kicked into gear in the third set, during which they recorded a team hitting percentage of .471. Natalie Mitchem led the set with five kills and was closely followed by Larregui López and Dean with four kills apiece. Rochaix had her biggest set of the night with 14 helpers.

Set four was knotted up at 11-11, but the Panthers closed out the match on a dominant 12-2 run to capture perhaps their biggest win of the season. Mitchem once again led the Eastern attack with six kills and EIU improved their team hitting percentage to .266. The Panthers were also helped by six service aces, with Giovana Larregui López and Catalina Rochaix both recording two. Laura Paniagua and Christina Martinez Mundo accounted for the remaining pair of aces.  

Natalie Mitchem led the match with 18 kills (4.5 KPS) on a very efficient .412 hitting percentage, while also adding a block to her stat line.

Giovana Larregui López recorded her fourth consecutive double-double with 13 kills and a team-leading 22 digs (5.5 DPS). Her dig total was a new career-high, besting the 20 she recorded against Oakland last season.

Kate Dean also had a solid outing with 12 kills, which matches her career high, on a .360 hitting percentage. She also had two blocks to bring her point total to 13.0.

Catalina Rochaix secured her second consecutive double-double with 43 assists (10.75 APS) and 14 digs. She also recorded a pair of blocks.

Two other Panthers were also in double digit digs, including Christina Martinez Mundo with 16 and Masyn Navarro with 13.

The Panthers and Redhawks will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m., as EIU looks to extend their lead in the conference standings.