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Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday, as they fell to Missouri by a score of 3-1. The loss comes after a historic 10-game winning streak by the Panthers to open the campaign. The set scores of the match were as follows: 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, and 20-25.

EIU came out of the gates strong, as they worked their way to a 15-12 lead mid-way through the opening set. However, Mizzou ended the set on a 13-3 run to take the 1-0 advantage.

In the second set, Missouri rode their momentum to a commanding 12-6 lead early on, but Eastern was able to battle their way back to knot things up at 14-14. That is when Giovana Larregui López caught fire. The senior outside hitter scored five consecutive points for the Panthers, all on kills, as they took control of the lead and never gave it up to even the match at 1-1. Larregui López had eight total kills in the set, double that of the next closest player.

Mizzou regained the advantage by taking set three behind 18 combined kills, as Jane deMarrais led the Tiger offense with five kills in the set, followed by Mogan Isenberg and Dilara Gedikoglu with four each. The Panthers were able to keep things close thanks to four kills from both Kate Dean and Natalie Mitchem, plus a pair of service aces by Sylvia Hasz, but were unable to overcome the Tigers' attack.

Missouri was able to close out the match in set four. After falling behind 21-16, a 4-0 burst by the Panthers helped them claw within one point of tying Mizzou up at 21-21, but then the Tigers went on a 4-0 run of their own to take the match and hand EIU their first loss of the season.

Giovana Larregui López ended the match with a double-double, as she recorded a match-high 14 kills and a team second-best 13 digs.

Natalie Mitchem and Kate Dean were the other key contributors for the Panthers' attack, as they collected 12 and 11 kills respectively. Dean's fantastic .391 hitting percentage was the highest of the match for any player.

Setter Catalina Rochaix also recorded a double-double. She again eclipsed 30 assists, tallying 35 on the match for an average of 8.75 assists per set, while also compiling 10 digs. 

Senior libero Christina Martinez Mundo had a great defensive showing, as she recorded a match-high 28 digs with a perfect .1000 reception percentage.

For Missouri, Sierra Dudley led the match with 48 assists as the Tigers collected 56 kills on a .260 hitting percentage. Mizzou also had a great day at the net, as they finished with 14.0 team blocks, led by middle blocker Morgan Isenberg with eight.

Entering the day, Eastern was one of just 12 (among 320) Division I volleyball teams that remained undefeated, and despite finally suffering a defeat, the Panthers 10-1 mark still places them among the best records in the nation.

Their 10-0 run featured three tournament titles, three tournament MVPs, six additional All-Tournament Team selections, and four OVC Player of the Week Awards. 

EIU will be back in Lantz Arena for their next contest, as they are set to open up OVC play against Southern Indiana on Monday, September 18^th at 6 p.m. They will then travel to UT Martin to take on the Skyhawks in a two-game series at the end of next week.