ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (4-7, 0-1 OVC) dropped their conference opener against Lindenwood (7-6, 1-0 OVC) in St. Charles on Friday evening. The Panthers were competitive in each set, but ultimately fell by a score of 0-3 (25-27, 21-25, 20-25).

The Panthers got out to an early lead in the opening set before Lindenwood used a 12-5 run to gain five-point advantage midway through the set. Eastern stormed back to take a late lead, but the Lions denied a pair of EIU set points before taking the frame 27-25. Kaitlyn Flynn had a big set with six kills on a .600 attack percentage.

The second set was tight throughout, with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage, but it was ultimately Lindenwood prevailing with a 25-21 win to take a 2-0 match lead. Katie Kopshever led EIU with five kills in the set.

Lindenwood used their momentum to gain an early lead in the third set, which they preserved for the entire frame on their way to taking the match. Kopshever led the way again with six kills in the set. She finished the match with 14 total kills (4.67 KPS), six digs, and a block.

Kaitlyn Flynn also posted 14 kills on a team-leading .355 hitting percentage while adding six digs and a block.

Sylvia Hasz led Eastern with 26 assists while Julia Udell posted a team-high 15 digs.

The Panthers will look to bounce back against the Lions on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live Stats and ESPN+ coverage will be available.