COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tennessee Tech volleyball team carried its momentum into Saturday's match, but it was not enough to overcome Eastern Illinois.

The Golden Eagles made the Panthers work in their three-set affair, as each team recorded at least 20 points in each set.

The opening frame saw EIU jump out to an early lead, only to see the Golden Eagles claw their way back to even the score. TTU remained pesky throughout the set, managing to knot up the score five times. Junior Kelsey Gray tallied five of her team-high nine kills in the opening set, but it was not enough as EIU took the opening set 25-22.

The middle set saw more competitiveness as the lead changed hands on three occasions. TTU managed to take the lead at 19-18, but the Panthers put together a 7-1 rally to take the set 25-20.

Eastern Illinois came back from the break and built a quick five-point lead at 11-6 in the third set and never looked back as it closed out the set with a 25-20 victory.

Gray paced all TTU hitters with nine kills, while hitting .304. Freshman Ellen Conti added eight kills of her own, while sophomore Allison May posted 14 digs.

Reynae Hutchinson paced the EIU offense with 11 kills, with Alison Berens following close behind with 10. Chrissie Albers notched a match-high 31 assists, while Brittany Wallace tallied a match-high 15 digs.

The Golden Eagles (3-18, 2-9 OVC) hit the road to take on UT Martin Tuesday, at 6 p.m.