CHARLESTON, Ill. - Four Tiger attackers finished in double-figures as the University of Missouri Volleyball team (8-3) overcame Eastern Illinois (10-1) in four sets (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20) Friday at Lantz Arena.

Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu paced Mizzou with her fourth double-double of the campaign with 14 kills and 15 digs on a .297 clip. It was also her third 14-kill match in 2023.

Sophomore outside hitter Janet deMarrais added a career-best 13 kills on a .344 hitting percentage to complement a trio of blocks. Jordan Iliff and Morgan Isenberg (.364) both added 10 kills.

Iliff tallied her first career double-double, chipping in a career-best 13 digs with five blocks.

Isenberg also collected eight blocks with a dig.

Mizzou handed EIU its first loss of the season to even the non-conference series at 1-1. The Tigers head into next week's SEC play with an 8-3 mark.

FIRST SET (25-18 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)

After the Tigers dropped Thursday's opener, Mizzou and Eastern Illinois commenced Friday with a tighter first set.

A kill from Gedikoglu evened the frame at 8-8 in a set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes.

The Panthers took a 15-12 lead into the media stoppage before Mizzou went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead 19-15. Gedikoglu had a pair of rally stoppers while Sierra Dudley and Isenberg combined for a block assist during the sequence.

A block assist by Isenberg and Iliff pushed the lead to 22-17 as the Tigers claimed the set on a 3-0 rally (25-18).

Colleen Finney teamed up with Iliff and then deMarrais for consecutive block assists following a termination from Isenberg.

Iliff and Gedikoglu (.444) each had four kills in the first set.

SECOND SET (25-20 EIU, Tied 1-1)

Eastern Illinois then jumped out to a 9-2 lead to bring on an early Missouri timeout.

A 5-0 Tigers run trimmed the home team's edge to one (12-11). Dudley opened the rally with a setter kill from libero Maya Sands followed by a pair of Gedikoglu kills and a Kaylen Rush ace.

Rush finished Friday with two aces and a dig.

Gedikoglu and Iliff then both added kills for ties at 15-15 and 16-16. EIU would distance itself, 22-18, after a Kate Dean kill.

The Tigers would come as close as 22-20 after consecutive rally stoppers by Finney and Isenberg as the Panthers evened the match at 1-1, scoring the final three points.

THIRD SET (25-22 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-1)

Mizzou then hit a match-high .341 in the third frame Friday as the Tigers retook the lead in the match.

Iliff blasted a kill after an EIU attack error for a slight 11-8 lead early. The Tigers then went on a 4-1 rally for a 15-10 advantage.

Gedikoglu connected on a rally stopper before a block assist by Isenberg and Dudley put the score at 18-13.

The Tigers then increased their advantage to 20-15 before EIU cut the margin to 23-20.

deMarrais registered a kill for set point (24-20) that the Panthers fended off twice before Gedikoglu posted her fourth kill of the set (25-22).

deMarrais notched five kills in the third set on a .455 hitting percentage followed by Isenberg (4, .500 hitting percentage) and Gedikoglu (4).

FOURTH SET (25-20 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-1)

The Tigers took an early 13-9 lead after three-straight Panthers attack errors including block assists by Isenberg and Iliff and then Isenberg and deMarrais.

With the score knotted at 16-16, Mizzou utilized a 5-0 rally for a 21-16 lead. Lauren Forbes capped the run with an ace.

EIU responded with four-straight points to trim the Tigers advantage to 21-20.

Mizzou then captured the match, grabbing the final four points (25-20).

MATCH NOTES

• Four Tiger attackers finished in double-figures Friday. It marked the first time in 2023 that Missouri had registered the feat.
• Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu paced Mizzou with her fourth double-double of the campaign with 14 kills and 15 digs on a .297 clip. It was also her third 14-kill match in 2023.
• Sophomore outside hitter Janet deMarrais added a career-best 13 kills on a .344 hitting percentage to complement a trio of blocks.
• Jordan Iliff and Morgan Isenberg (.364) both added 10 kills.
• Jordan Iliff tallied her first career double-double, chipping in a career-best 13 digs with five blocks.
• Morgan Isenberg also collected eight blocks with a dig.
• Graduate student Colleen Finney chipped in seven kills on a .333 hitting percentage with a season-high six blocks and a dig.
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley passed out 48 assists, nine digs, three blocks and two kills as Mizzou hit .260 as a team.
• For Sierra Dudley, it marked her fifth career 40-plus assist match.
• Sophomore libero Maya Sands grabbed a career-best 25 digs with two assists.
• For Maya Sands, it marked her fourth 20-plus dig outing of the 2023 season.
• Defensive specialist Lauren Forbes tallied 13 digs with two assists and an ace. It marked her third double-digit dig outing in 2023.
• Missouri registered a season-high 78 digs and 14 blocks (Missouri led EIU 14-5). The Tigers last had 78 digs at South Carolina in 2022 (Oct. 1).
• Mizzou handed EIU its first loss of the season to even the non-conference series at 1-1. Eastern Illinois now leads the all-time series with Missouri, 9-6.
• The Tigers head into next week's SEC play with an 8-3 overall mark. With one more win, Mizzou will tie its win total from the 2022 season.

LOOKING AHEAD

Mizzou next heads to Knoxville, Tennessee, to officially begin conference play with the team's first SEC matchup against Tennessee, on Wednesday, Sept. 20. First serve is set for 6 p.m., CT. Fans can watch the match live on ESPN2.