COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- Despite a spirited effort on the road Friday evening, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team was unable to come away with a win as it took the three-set loss to Eastern Illinois.

During their three sets against the Panthers several Golden Eagles made strong contributions, like sophomore Natalie Penrod and junior Kelsey Gray, who paced the Golden Eagles with a combined 19 kills on offense, with the latter boasting a scorching .467 hitting percentage.

Gray also made an impact on defense as well, posting eight total blocks, including two solo tallies.

It was also on the defense that a Golden Eagle reached a career milestone. Sophomore Allison May recorded a match-high 16 digs on the night, which boosted her career total to 1,000 digs.

With the contributions from all of the players listed above, it is no surprise that all three sets were not won easily, as EIU had to play catch up or hold back the Golden Eagles in each set.

During the opening set, the lead changed hands on five separate occasions, as both teams found themselves knotted up at 19 late in the set. EIU was able to keep the Tech offense off the scoreboard through the rest of the set as it took the first set 25-21.

The second slate proved more competitive than the first, as both teams exchanged the lead six times, en route to an extra point battle that ultimately went to the Panthers by the score of 27-25.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the third frame but the Panthers would not be denied as they stormed back to take the lead for good at 18-17, as they won the final set by the score of 25-19.

TTU (4-23, 3-14 OVC) wraps up its regular season road schedule Saturday, against the SIU Edwardsville Cougars, at 2 p.m.