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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois beach volleyball (0-3, 0-2 OVC) opened up Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend as they headed to the first of two OVC Weekends of the season. Chattanooga was the host city for the first event this year.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 1 - 4 TENNESSEE TECH
In their first OVC match of the season, EIU dropped the match to beach volleyball newcomer Tennessee Tech by a final score of 4-1. Despite the loss, EIU took two of the five matches into a third set.

Giovana Larregui Lopez and Tori Mohesky won their first match of the season during the No. 2 pair match between TTU's Morgan Gish and Jordan Karlen. In three sets, the pair scored 21, 19 and 15 points to secure the lone point for Eastern Illinois.

The No. 5 pair of Ella Collins and Emily Wilcox also took their match into five sets, but ultimately fell to the Golden Eagles' McKenna Young and Bella Powell. A tough battle through and through, the pair dropped the first set by a score of 6-21. They then bounced back with a score of 23-21 before losing the final set 6-16.

FINAL SCORES
No. 1 TTU Skylar Boom/Aleeya Jones 2 - EIU Kaitlyn Flynn/Sylvia Hasz 0 (13-21, 20-22)
No. 2 EIU Giovana Larregui Lopez/Tori Mohesky 2  - TTU Morgan Gish/Jordan Karlen 1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-13)
No. 3 TTU Maddie Isringhausen/Brooke Amanan 2 - EIU Christina Martinez Mundo/Lilli Amettis 0 (16-21, 10-21)
No. 4 TTU Jazmine Yamilkoski/Katie DiRaimondo 2 - EIU Kate Dean/Catalina Rochaix 0 (14-21, 15-21)
No. 5 TTU McKenna Young/Bella Powell 2 - EIU Emily Wilcox/Ella Collins 1 (6-21, 23-21, 6-15)

EASTERN ILLINOIS 0 - 5 UT MARTIN
During the afternoon match, Eastern Illinois would fall to the OVC preseason number one team UT Martin by a final score of 0-5. UT Martin is currently 9-6 on the season including two wins against OVC opponent Chattanooga.

Collins and Wilcox continued their strong performances at the number five spot despite falling in two sets to the Skyhawks. The duo scored the most points in any pair during the match against UTM with set scores of 13-21 and 14-21.

Kate Dean and Catalina Rochaix also put up a fight in the number four pairing with a 4-21 and 14-21 loss. Dean and Rochaix are currently 1-2 together after picking up a pair win in the first match of the season against Missouri Baptist.

FINAL SCORES
No. 1 UTM Dylan Mott/Logan Wallick 2 - EIU Kaitlyn Flynn/Sylvia Hasz 0 (7-21, 12-22)
No. 2 UTM Kambree Lucas/Olivia O'Keefe 2  - EIU Christina Martinez Mundo/Tori Mohesky 0 (9-21, 9-21)
No. 3 UTM Addy Vaughn/Lucy Kaufman 2 - EIU Giovana Larregui Lopez/Lilli Amettis 0 (11-21, 12-21)
No. 4 UTM Haeleigh Paulino/Jenna Vallee 2 - EIU Kate Dean/Catalina Rochaix 0 (4-21, 14-21)
No. 5 UTM Kayla Carrell/Kayla Bryant 2 - EIU Emily Wilcox/Ella Collins 0 (613-21, 14-21)

The Panthers will return tomorrow for two more matches in the opening OVC Weekend as they will take on Morehead State at 8:00 a.m. CT and the host team Chattanooga at 1:00 p.m. CT. Follow us on eiupanthers.com for more information.