Eastern closed out the EIU Panther Classic with a 3-1 win against Akron on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena.

Early in the first set, the Panthers and the Zips exchanged points, and both teams did not go on big runs.

Late in the first set, sophomore middle blocker Kate Dean killed the ball with an assist from sophomore setter Catalina Rochaix to tie with the Zips 25-25.

Eastern won the next two points and the first set 27-25.

The Panthers started the second set with a 6-0 run that included kills from graduate outside/opposite hitter Natalie Mitchem and senior outside hitter Giovana Larregui Lopez and blocks from freshman middle blocker Julia Stanev.

Later in the second set, the Panthers went on a 13-1 run against the Zips. Four of those points were from service aces; one service ace from Larregui Lopez and three from sophomore setter Sylvia Hasz.

Eastern won their final point of the set from a kill by senior middle blocker Emily Wilcox, and the Panthers won the second set 25-8.

Akron won the third set 25-22. Eastern recorded their lowest amount of kills per set (11) and their highest amount of errors per set (10) in the game.

Eastern came back to win the fourth set 25-12, and they also recorded their highest amount of kills per set (19) and their lowest amount of errors per set (1) in the game.

The Panthers went on a 10-1 run to end the fourth and final set of the game.

Hasz led the Panthers with three aces, Larregui Lopez led with 18 kills, and Rochaix led with 50 assists.

“Preparation was key for me,” Rochaix said. “I practice a lot and have a lot of individual meetings with the coaches, and I trust in my team a lot.”

Along with her 50 assists, Rochaix ended the game with four kills and six digs.

Sophomore opposite hitter/outside hitter Tori Mohesky ended the game with eight kills and 13 digs, and she helped the Panthers gain momentum with crucial kills throughout the game.

“We want to do good for each other,” Mohesky said. “We just want to do the best of our abilities and trust each other.”

Panther’s Head Coach Sara Thomas was proud of the resiliency the team had shown today.

The Panthers played two games the previous day against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks and the Valparaiso Beacons.

“Playing three games pretty much in 24 hours can not always be the easiest thing,” Thomas said.

Eastern is currently 3-0 in the 2023 season after their game against Akron.

Eastern’s next game will be on Friday, Sept. 1 at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invite against Oral Roberts. The game is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. in the IUPUI Gymnasium.