CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (8-15, 4-9 OVC) held off Little Rock (15-13, 10-5 OVC) 3-2 to pick up another key conference victory on Friday night. The final set scores were 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, and 15-11.

The opening set was back-and-forth throughout, with neither team gaining more than a three-point advantage. With the score knotted up at 22-22, Destiny Walker went off for three consecutive kills to close the set and give Eastern a 1-0 lead in the match. Walker led all players will nine kills in the frame while Ireland Hieb posted a trio of blocks.

Set two was tight early on, but after going up 8-7, EIU never relinquished their advantage as they grew their lead to as many as six points. The Trojans tried to make a late push, but a Matilda Dahlström kill slammed the door shut on any hope of a rally and gave Eastern a 2-0 match lead. Dahlström led the Panthers with seven kills in the set as Catalina Rochaix handed out 13 assists.

With their backs against the wall, Little Rock was able to build a five-point lead late in set three. EIU scored four in a row to cut the deficit to just one, but the Trojans closed the set on a 3-1 run to evade the sweep and extend the match. Kaitlyn Flynn led Eastern in scoring with five kills and a solo block in the set.

The fourth set was tied up at 15-15 before a 6-2 Little Rock run put the Panthers in a hole they were unable to climb out of. Eastern cut the deficit to just a pair three times, but could not get over the hump as the Trojans evened the match at two sets apiece. Destiny Walker kept her big night going with six kills in the frame.

In the deciding set, Little Rock rode their momentum to a 6-3 lead. However, the Panthers responded by stringing together a massive 9-0 run to blow past the Trojans and take a commanding 12-6 advantage. Little Rock cut the lead in half, but came no closer as Destiny Walker put a bow on her performance with a match-point kill to give Eastern the 3-2 win.

Walker led the Eastern Illinois offense with a career-high 27 kills while adding two blocks. She also shined on the defensive end with 16 digs to finish with a double-double.

Two other Panthers posted double-digit kills, including Kaitlyn Flynn with 17 and Matilda Dahlström with 14. Both players were also forces at the net, with Dahlström collecting seven blocks and Flynn recording five rejections.

Ireland Hieb led the Panthers in blocks with a total of 11, including one solo, as Eastern combined for 16.0 total team blocks.

Catalina Rochaix also had a big night as she posted a season-high 55 assists (11.0 APS) while racking up 16 digs for a double-double.

Meanwhile, Laura Paniagua put together another impressive showing with 30 digs (6.00 DPS), which is a new career high for the senior.

Tori Mohesky also reached double-digit digs with 10 on the evening.

The Panthers and Trojans will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m. as EIU is set to recognize four players as part of their Senior Day celebration.