Need first approximate match returned

I need to find a value based on the value in another column (i.e. lookup table). What I have struggled with is that it needs to be the first match and an approximate match. I though it could be done with index-match, but I can't meet both requirements above through an index-match function. Or, at least I have been unsuccessful. The lookup array does not linearly ascend either. It increases, then decreases, then increases again. Any suggestions?

It is probably better stated as I want to identify the first approximate match. This value will then be used in an index formula. The match array increases, then decreases, and then increases again. Example: need the c value associated w/ b. If b was 3, I would want it to return a c value of 3, because it is associated with the minimum a.

a b c
1 1 1
2 2 2
3 2.9 3
4 4 4
5 4 5
6 3 6
7 4 7
8 5 8

Tony,

Thank you for your help. I used your suggestion and it works for the example I provided. However, it doesn't work for the data I am working with. See attached worksheet 2, it returns the last match. Hopefully, I have some simple mistake.

So you want to find the first time the value in A exceeds the lookup value, and return from column B the row before?

Try

=INDEX(B1:B1000,MATCH(TRUE,INDEX(A1:A1000>3.07,0,0),0)-1)

This returns the value from B46 in your example book.

Jonmo1,

That works and I appreciate your help.

You're welcome.