Morehead, Ky. -- A late six-point Eastern Illinois run in the deciding fifth set pushed Eastern Illinois into the lead and Morehead State fell to the Panthers 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 29-27, 15-17) Friday afternoon in Johnson Arena.
 
After Morehead State (10-12, 6-6OVC) forced the tie-breaker with a 29-27 fourth set win, the Eagles maintained a slim margin though the early stages of the fifth set, then ran off a 3-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. Senior Amelia Nott pushed the Morehead State advantage to 10-5; another Nott termination put the MSU lead to 11-7.

Eastern Illinois (6-15, 5-5 OVC) responded with their 6-0 run to take the lead 13-11. Morehead State rebounded to tie the score at 13-13. The teams traded points and tied the score at 14-14 and at 15-15. Kills by EIU's Katie Kopshever and Emma Hanson clinched the match for the Panthers.
 
Morehead State was led by Hollan Everett with 18 kills. Nott and Ella Warrick posted 17 kills apiece. Nott posted a .469 hitting percentage and added four total blocks. Warrick completed her eighth double-double of the season with 12 digs.
 
Haidyn Carter was again solid at the net; one day after setting a career high in blocks with nine, she eclipsed that mark with 11 Friday. Morehead State had a 15-14 edge to total team blocks. The totals were season highs for both clubs.  Riley McCloskey set a new career mark with four blocks.
 
The Panthers ran off four straight points to begin the fourth set. A 4-0 MSU run to cut the deficit to 8-6, was answered by EIU with a four-point run of its own to go ahead 15-11 at the technical timeout.  MSU fought back to tie the set at 21-21. The Eagles turned back three EIU match points before winning the frame 29-27 on their second set point. Warrick led the attack for the Eagles in the set with nine kills.
 
The match opened tightly contested with six tie and six lead changes. An 11-1 run through the middle stages of the set gave the Eagles a 16-9 lead. The lead never got smaller than five through the rest of the set. Nott led the attack with eight kills and a .800 efficiency.
 
EIU rebounded in the second set, hitting .263 and holding the Eagles to a .154 hitting percentage.
 
The third set was again tightly played with seven ties and two lead changes.  The Panthers broke an 11-11 tie with a 3-1 run and never trailed again in the set. EIU closed out the set with a four-point run. EIU hit .400 in the frame, while MSU hit .259. Everett led all attackers with six kills in the frame.
 
Eastern Illinois was led by junior Katie Kopshever, who tied her career-high with 23 kills. She added 17 for a double-double.
 
Morehead State returns to action Thursday when they visit SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois. First serve Thursday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. Friday's match will start at 3:00 p.m. ET.
 
NOTABLE

• The match was Morehead State's fourth of the season to go to the tiebreaker. MSU is 2-2 when going the distance this season.
• EIU had a 7-6 edge in service aces in the match. Nott and Josie Certa each posted two for Morehead State. EIU's Anna McEwen and Alanys Nieves posted two apiece.
• EIU had an 80-76 edge in digs, led by Ariadna Pereles with a match-high 28. Morehead State had five players in double figures led by Courtney Fitzgerald with 18.