Eastern’s volleyball team opened the 2024 season in Groniger Arena against the nationally ranked Marquette Golden Eagles.

After three sets, the Golden Eagles swept the Panthers to give Eastern their first loss of the season (25-16, 25-13, 25-21).

Before the game started, Eastern got a red card before play, giving Marquette an early 1-0 lead in the first set.

The Panthers fought back throughout the three sets, but the Golden Eagles went on multiple long runs, including an 8-0 run that included a triple ace by Golden Eagle Samantha Naber in the second set.

Kaitlyn Flynn, a senior outside/opposite hitter for the Panthers, finished the game with 12 points, leading Eastern in total points throughout the game.

Flynn also recorded 10 kills, five digs, two assisted blocks, and one ace.

“I think we ended on a really good note against a team who’s ranked 24th in the nation,” Flynn said. “We saw a lot of good things [from the team], and we’re just excited to get back to work and play next weekend.”

The last time these two teams faced each other was during the first round of the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Panthers lost 3-0 against the Golden Eagles.

Although both teams had dominant returners on both sides, including Yadhira Anchante and Carsen Murray from Marquette and Flynn and Julia Stanev from Eastern, both teams have fresh faces that entered the game.

For the Panthers, freshman libero/defensive specialist Ariadna Pereles started the game for the Panthers. Although the team lost, Pereles was happy with the team’s performance and how they kept competitive spirits throughout the game.

“It was a hard game, but we did good,” Pereles said. “We battled though the game, and now we’re going to focus on the next game and the next rival and get into it.”

Pereles ended the game with three assists and three digs.

Eastern’s head coach Sara Thomas was also proud of the team’s determination and commitment throughout the game.

“We battled especially at the end,” Thomas said. “What I told our team is that if we can battle with them, we can battle with anybody. We saw glimpses of times that we were really good and some times that we know where we can keep working on.”

One aspect Thomas has brought to the team is to have the memory of a goldfish. The saying, memory of a goldfish, stems back to the myth of goldfish having the memory span of 10 seconds.

Thomas wants to implement that mindset to the team, so the team doesn’t worry about the past but only focusing on the now.

“We can’t do anything about what had previously happened, so we need to move on quickly,” Thomas said. “They know when I say, ‘Hey, be a goldfish,’ learn from what happened and move on quickly.”

The Panthers made the third set difficult for the Golden Eagles as this set was where Eastern had the most momentum.

Freshman outside/opposite hitter Destiny Walker recorded five of her six kills within the third set for the Panthers, and the Panthers went on a 7-0 run late in the set, including a service ace by senior libero/defensive specialist Laura Paniagua.

“At first, we started slow, but then we got the rhythm and kept going,” Pereles said. “The energy was always up.”

The next game for the Panthers will be in Carbondale against the Memphis Tigers during the Southern Illinois Saluki Bash. This game is set to start at 1 p.m.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.