Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (4-9, 0-3 OVC) dropped a hard-fought five set battle against Southern Indiana (7-9, 2-2 OVC) on Thursday evening. The final set scores were as follows: 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 16-25, 12-15.

EIU fell behind 11-6 in the opening set before flipping the script with nine unanswered points to take a 15-11 lead. However, the Screaming Eagles held steady and closed the gap before scoring six of the last seven points to take the set. Lilli Amettis led the Panthers attack in the frame with five kills.

Set two was tight throughout, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage before EIU went on a 6-1 run to close out the set and even the match. Lilli Amettis, Kaitlyn Flynn, and Katie Kopshever each posted three kills in the set to lead Eastern.

The Panthers used their momentum to gain an early four-point advantage in the third frame before USI clawed their way back to a 9-8 lead. The lead changed hands three times before EIU used a 9-2 run to gain a comfortable 22-16 lead. Southern Indiana made a late push, but a Katie Kopshever kill slammed the door on the comeback bit as the Panthers took a 2-1 match lead.

The Screaming Eagles responded in set four, taking an early lead that they built to as many as 10 points on their way to evening the match at two sets apiece. Matilda Dahlström posted five kills in the set to lead EIU.

In the deciding fifth set, Eastern had seemed to seize the momentum with a 9-6 lead at the midway point, but after switching sides USI six straight to go ahead 12-9. EIU pulled back to within one point twice, but USI found a way to hold off the Panthers and win the set and match.

Matilda Dahlström had a big outing for EIU, posting a season-high 16 kills while adding four service aces and two blocks for a team-high 21 points.

Two other Panthers had double-digit kills on the night, including Lilli Amettis (12) and Katie Kopshever (10). Kopshever also recorded 14 digs for a double-double.

Ariadna Pereles was all over the floor for Eastern at the libero spot, scooping up a total of 32 digs for an average of 6.4 digs per set.

Ireland Hieb also made her presence felt on defense with six blocks.

The Panthers and Screaming Eagles will run it back on Friday at 4 p.m. inside Groniger Arena. ESPN+ and Live Stats coverage will be available.