CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (8-19, 4-13 OVC) dropped their Tuesday night tilt against Tennessee State (10-20, 6-11 OVC) by a score of 0-3. The final set scores were 20-25, 22-25, and 21-25.

The Panthers found themselves in an early five-point hole in the opening set, and despite rallying to pull within one, were unable to overcome the deficit. Kaitlyn Flynn led EIU in the set with three kills and a block.

Eastern pounced out to a 14-7 lead in set two, but TSU responded by stringing together a 17-4 run to gain a late six-point advantage over the Panthers. EIU turned away four consecutive set points to claw back within two, but could not complete the comeback as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the match. Flynn headlined EIU's scoring efforts again with four kills and another pair of blocks.

EIU got out to another early lead in set three, but TSU slowly chipped away at their deficit before exploding for eight consecutive points to put themselves in control. Trailing 21-15, the Panthers refused to go down quietly and put together a 6-1 run to make the score 22-21. However, the Tigers regrouped and scored the final three points of the frame to secure the win.

Kaitlyn Flynn and Lilli Amettis led the EIU attack with 10 kills apiece on the evening. Flynn also added a trio of blocks to finish as the team's leading scorer.

Meanwhile, Catalina Rochaix led the match with 23 assists while also adding eight digs. 

Defensively, Julia Udell led the way with nine digs. She was followed by Laura Paniagua and Destiny Walker with eight digs apiece.

The Panthers will close out the 2024 season on Friday afternoon as they rematch Tennessee State at 4 p.m. inside Groniger Arena.