Eastern was one game away from claiming the championship of the Pepsi/Super 8 Invitational over the weekend at Lantz.

The Panthers played tough in the first two games of the match against tournament champion Drake, winning both 30-25. They then lost the next three games and finished in second place for the tournament for the third year in a row.

In the first game against Drake, the Panthers had .372 hitting percentage and went on a 5-0 run led by sophomore outside hitter Sarah Niedospial’s two kills to close out the first game.

The second game was also close, but once the Panthers took the lead early on with junior outside hitter Erica Gerth’s kill, they never looked back.

In game No. 3, the Panthers trailed 20-16, but were able to rally back and tie the game at 24 and 28 but two late hitting errors were too much for the Panthers to overcome.

Drake was in control for most of game four but the Panthers went on a 16-5 run and took a 23-20 lead after a Gerth kill. Drake then took a 25-24 lead and three Panther attack errors gave Drake a 29-26 lead.

“We came out really strong against Drake,” said freshman Mary Welch. “Drake just started hitting the ball hard and we just had a hard time finishing them off.”

The Panthers went on to lose in game five 15-9 but played hard throughout the tournament.

Gerth recorded her third straight double-double against Drake with 16 kills and 18 digs. Gerth was named to the all-tournament team for the third straight year. Junior middle hitter Shanna Ruxer had 15 kills with a .448 hitting percentage along with seven blocks against Drake. Niedospial had 14 kills and 15 digs with a .452 hitting percentage. Welch also added a double-double against Drake with 12 kills and 10 digs.

Head coach Brenda Winkeler was proud of the Panthers’ performance and said she wanted her team to keep their heads up because they are a good team and are all starting to believe that.

“This year, our team chemistry is much better, and we are all more determined,” said Niedospial. “We played well and should have finished 3-0 but we will learn from our mistakes and move on.”

“We’re still young and we have to learn how to keep our composure and keep giving 110 percent,” said sophomore setter Heather Redenbo. “We know we are a good team and we’ll be ready on Tuesday against Saint Louis.”

“We should finish in the top three in our conference,” Redenbo said.

The Panthers will play the Billikens at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lantz Arena.