Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 OVC) fought hard against nationally ranked Marquette (1-0, 0-0 Big East) on Friday night, but ultimately dropped the season opener by a score of 0-3. The final set scores were as follows: (16-25, 13-25, 21-25).

The Golden Eagles started hot in the opening set as they quickly got out to an early 8-2 lead. The Panthers settled down and cut the lead in half midway through the frame, but Marquette responded with a 5-0 run to help win the set. OVC Preseason Player to Watch Kaitlyn Flynn made her presence known early with five kills in the set.

Marquette came out strong once again in the second set and led by as much as 13 in the frame. EIU refused to quit and went on an explosive 5-1 run late in the set, but the large deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Golden Eagles took a two-set lead. Flynn matched her opening set performance with another five kills.

In the third set, Marquette found themselves with another sizeable advantage before an electric 7-0 run by Eastern that featured a pair of block combinations from Ireland Hieb and Lilli Amettis cut the lead to two late. However, Marquette outscored the Panthers 4-2 down the stretch to take the set and the match. Freshman Destiny Walker had a big set with five kills.

Kaitlyn Flynn led the EIU offense with 10 kills on the night. She also added five digs, two block assists, and a service ace to her stellar performance.

Destiny Walker had a solid debut for the Panthers with a team second-best six kills and team-leading eight digs.

Meanwhile, Ireland Hieb led both teams with six block assists. The Panthers outblocked the Golden Eagles nine to five on the evening.

Next up for Eastern will be the SIU Saluki Bash in Carbondale next weekend. The Panthers are set to face Memphis at 1 pm on Friday, followed by Jackson State at 4 pm later that day and Southern Illinois at 1:30 pm on Saturday.