Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Flynn notched 16 kills and a season-high eight blocks, and graduate student Ireland Hieb tallied seven kills and eight blocks to help lead Eastern’s volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the Tennessee State Tigers on Wednesday evening at Groniger Arena.

Tennessee State (10-21, 6-12) took control early in the first set, as they led 22-16. However, Eastern stormed back thanks to Flynn, who recorded five consecutive points to help cut the Panthers’ first half deficit to one.

Then, a crucial late block by graduate student and middle blocker Ireland Hieb helped the Panthers (9-19, 5-13) complete the comeback and take the opening set, with Flynn and sophomore middle blocker Julia Stanev each recording three blocks.

The second set was all about Flynn who recorded six more kills (giving her 10 on the night through two sets) as the Panthers took the second set 25-21, but the Tigers responded in the third set as Tiger outside hitter Celestial Miller tallied her ninth kill of the game and led Tennessee State to a 25-23 victory to extend the game to a fourth set.

The Panthers never looked back in the fourth set, as Eastern got off to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to a service ace from junior setter Catalina Rochaix and consecutive blocks from Hieb.

Eastern would only extend their lead as the set progressed, with Stanev recording the final kill to give the Panthers a 25-15 victory in the fourth set, sealing a 3-1 set victory.

Despite the victory, the loss to the Tigers on Tuesday night eliminated the Panthers from playoff contention.

Eastern finished ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference, and only the top eight teams advance to the conference tournament in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Flynn ended her volleyball career with a strong showing, and Stanev also had one of her best nights of her career, as she recorded a season-high eight kills while also adding six blocks. Senior libero/defensive specialist Laura Paniagua also tallied a team-high 13 digs.

For Hieb, it’s the final game of her career— one that has spanned six years, as she competed in her first season in 2019.

Hieb left her full-time job to return for one final season with Eastern’s volleyball program.

“I felt like I knew we were gonna win today,” Hieb said. “I knew we were going to play good and we just went out there and had fun, [and] I am extremely happy.”

Eastern’s head coach Sara Thomas was proud of the team’s performance, despite their season coming to an end.

“I’m very proud that we finished tonight on a win— that took resiliency,” Thomas said. “Obviously, our goal was to make the conference tournament. But it will light a fire under us for this upcoming offseason of training. It was a year where [we] had nine new players in what we considered to be a rebuilding year, [and] now it just restarts. We went through it before, and we got a championship, and it’s all part of the process. Our future is still very, very bright.”

Flynn and Paniagua will rejoin Thomas for their final beach volleyball season, which is slated to begin in the spring.