CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (2-1, 0-0 OVC) won both of their matches on the opening day of the SIU Saluki Bash in Carbondale on Friday afternoon. The Panthers opened things up with a 3-1 win over Memphis (2-2, 0-0 AAC) before taking down Jackson State (3-3, 0-0 SWAC) by the same score.

Eastern Illinois 3, Memphis 1

In the weekend's opening set, the score stood at 10-10 before a 5-0 EIU run that featured three kills from Kaitlyn Flynn gave the Panthers a comfortable lead. The Tigers were able to pull back within two points, but came no closer as Eastern took a 25-21 victory to gain an early one set advantage.

The Panthers rode the early momentum to a dominant set two win, in which they led by as many as 15 points and won 25-11. Lilli Amettis led Eastern in the frame with five kills.

Memphis took a narrow 27-25 win in the third set, but EIU rolled to a 25-17 set four win to take the match. Flynn and Amettis led the Panthers attack with four kills apiece in the deciding set.

Kaitlyn Flynn led the EIU attack with 20 kills in the match for an average of 5.00 kills per set. She also led the team with five blocks while adding a pair of service aces.

Lilli Amettis was also in double digit kills with 15 terminations on a .333 hitting percentage. She also had a pair of blocks and a service ace.

Matilda Dahlström also had a nice outing with nine kills, two service aces, and seven digs.

Meanwhile, Catalina Rochaix handed out 45 assists for a per set average of 11.25. She also led the Panthers in digs with 16 to secure her first double-double of the season.

Laura Paniagua was the other Panther with double-digit digs, posting a career-high of 15 in the match.

Eastern Illinois 3, Jackson State 1

In the day's second contest, the Panthers got out to another fast start with a convincing 25-17 win in set one. Kaitlyn Flynn kept her big day going with six kills in the frame.

In the second set, EIU fell behind 3-0 early, but used a quick 4-0 run to gain their first lead of the set. The teams would go on to trade a couple of lead changes on their way to a 21-21 tie late in the frame, but the Panthers powered through with a 4-1 run to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Jackson State punched back in set three with a 25-21 win to make the score 2-1. However, EIU responded in the fourth set, scoring six unanswered points midway through the frame to grab a commanding lead that they would not relinquish. The Panthers took a 25-17 win to secure their second victory of the day.

Kaitlyn Flynn was again at the forefront of the Panthers' attack with 12 kills on a .320 attack percentage. She was followed by Lilli Amettis and Ireland Hieb with nine kills each.

Catalina Rochaix posted another double-double with 41 assists (10.25 APS) and a team-leading 15 digs.

Julia Stanev led the match with four blocks, including a pair of solo efforts.

The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday as they close out the Saluki Bash with a 1:30 p.m. matinee against Southern Illinois. Live Stats and ESPN+ coverage of the match will be available.