The Panthers move to 7-15 overall and 4-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference after beating Illinois-Chicago 3-1 at home Monday.

Last season, the Panthers swept Illinois-Chicago to even their record at 10-10 and get back to .500.

This season, they beat Illinois-Chicago 3-1 in another exciting match-up between the in-state rivals.

Head Coach Kate Price said she is starting to see a turnaround from the team with this much needed confidence booster for a team that needs to gain some steam.

“It is good to see these string of wins come together,” Price said. “This team has the capability to win, they just finally realized it.”

The dynamic duo of sophomore Reynae Hutchinson and junior Emily Franklin led the Panthers in the victory with a combined 34 kills and 23 digs.

Hutchinson had 18 kills and 12 digs, while Franklin had 16 kills and 11 digs.

Hutchinson also recorded her 11th career double-double against Illinois-Chicago, earning back-to-back double-doubles for the weekend.

Junior Alison Berens also added 12 kills and two digs.

The duo of Hutchinson and Franklin have kills in the 200s, making a strong campaign for the changing of the tone in the team as of late.

In a hard-fought match with 30 ties and 20 lead changes, the Panthers traded blows with Illinois-Chicago until the bitter end.

After trailing 1-0 early in sets, the Panthers buckled down and came back to win the next three sets to bring home their third consecutive win and third non-conference win.

In the fourth and final set, the Panthers were tied 19-19 and a controversial call paused the game for a moment as Price and the officials had a short back and forth deliberation.

“On back to back plays, the officials should have made the calls in our favor,” Price said. “It ended up in a favor though on the next play.”

Both teams redid the point, which was in favor of the Panthers. The Panthers then remained on top to win the set and the match 3-1.

The Panthers return to the court this homecoming weekend against Tennessee State Friday and Austin Peay Saturday.

Lenny Arquilla can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].