EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE volleyball hit better than .200 as a team for the third straight Ohio Valley Conference match but could not top visiting Eastern Illinois Wednesday at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE, 3-10 overall and 1-2 in the OVC, fell 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22 to the Panthers, which improved to 8-9 overall and 3-0 in the OVC.

"I believe two good teams battled," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson. "There was a lot of good volleyball played tonight. Both teams had to adjust strategy on occasions. Both teams changed their lineup every single set in key positions because it was a chess match back and forth."

SIUE's key piece was senior middle hitter Kristen Torre, who led all players with 17 kills and a .429 hitting percentage.

The Panthers came out balanced and strong in the opening set. Four players each had three kills as the team hit .545.

SIUE countered in set two with five kills each from Torre and Alicia Streetar. EIU's hitting percentage was sluggish in the middle two sets of the match.

"We put a lot of pressure on their passing," said Johnson. "For two different sets, they hit below .200, and that is uncharacteristic of them."

SIUE finished with five services aces, including three in the opening set.

"Both teams were aggressive serving," noted Johnson. "Unfortunately we were serving so aggressive that we were making too many errors."

Maria Brown led the Panthers with 11 kills. SIUE's Taylor Joens was the only other player recording double-digit kills for the match with 11.

SIUE hit .208 as a team for the match. With strong first and fourth sets, EIU hit .275 as a team.

"We're going to keep working hard on defense and at the net, but our side out game is the result of this offense," said Johnson.

The Cougars now head to Nashville, Tennessee, for their first OVC road contest. SIUE faces Tennessee State Saturday at noon.