The Crimson opened their 2010 campaign with a 3-1 loss to Eastern Illinois (David Silverman).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite a strong second set and an energetic home crowd, the Harvard women's volleyball team dropped its season opener to Eastern Illinois, 3-1, Friday night at the Malkin Athletic Center in the third game of the Harvard Invitational. The Panthers, who picked up their first win of the season in the first match of the tournament, move to 2-0 on the young season.

The Panthers and Crimson stayed tight through the first half o the opening set, as a Teresa Skelly kill evened the score at 11-11. EIU put together an 11-3 run, claiming a 22-14 lead and went on to finish off the first set with a block assist from Erin Hake, Jorie Dieter and Alex Zwettler. The Crimson jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set but the Panther stayed close and evened the score at 20-20. Harvard rattled off four straight points and calimed the second set on a Mikaelle Comrie kill.

The Crimson dug an early 7-1 hole in the third set and couldn't recover down the stretch, falling 25-13. Harvard stayed close through the first half of the fourth set, knotting the score at 10-10, but a 10-4 run vaulted the visitors out to a commanding 20-14 lead. The Crimson closed the gap to 23-19, but the Panthers toughed out the final two points to claim the 3-1 match win.

Taylor Docter led all hitters with 14 kills on the evening and her eight digs marked the second-highest total on the team. Comrie notched nine kills in the match and Christine Wu's 21 digs was a match-high. Zwettler fronted the EIU attack with 12 kills and Chrissie Albers collected a game-best 33 assists on the evening.

Harvard returns to action tomorrow as it takes on Bryant at 12:30 p.m., and local foe Boston College at 8:00 p.m., to wrap up the Harvard Invitational.

Match Highlights