Eastern’s starting team has been a bit younger lately.

Since Oct. 14, freshman outside hitter Jessica Wheeler has been starting every match for the Panthers. That same night, freshman setter Lauren Schutte started in place of Maren Crabtree.

“I like what I’m seeing there,” head coach Lori Bennett said. “I like what I see in the numbers they’re putting up for us in the match and they’re relaxed and playing good volleyball. They’re doing a great job offensively.”

Eastern will not be the only team with younger players on the court Friday night, when the Panthers host Austin Peay.

Austin Peay starts the only freshman on their roster, outside hitter Kirstin Distler, head coach Corey Carlin said.

“She has a very high volleyball I.Q.,” he said. “She comes from a great training background and she really knows the game. Just having her court awareness and her experience on the floor has been contagious to the rest of the girls.”

Distler currently leads the Governors in service aces and is averaging 1.89 kills per game.

Wheeler, who has played 15 games so far, has an average of 2.9 kills per game.

When Wheeler started against Murray State on Oct. 14, she led the team with 21 kills. Since then, she has had 20 more in two matches. She currently has 44 kills for the season.

“Jess has a really nice hitting percentage in just the few matches that she’s played in,” Bennett said. “She’s doing a nice job blocking for us as well. She has a nice aggressive serve and she will get a lot better at ball control. We’ve seen some great improvements from her so far this year. She’s just going to continue to get better because she’s a tremendous athlete.”

When Schutte started against Murray State, she had 41 assists and 10 digs, recording her first double-double in her first match.

She has added 75 assists and 13 more digs to those totals this past weekend.

“Schutte has just done a great job running our offense and keeping all of our hitters calm and stable and focused,” Bennett said. “That’s something that you look for in a setter, and she’s lately been doing a good job.”

Schutte has attributed this success on keeping the teams spirit up during the game.

“I’m just telling them what they’re going to hit and keeping them motivated,” she said.

Bennett attributed both women’s successes so far to how relaxed they are on the court.

“They’re just a little bit more relaxed,” Bennett said. “They’re able to focus a bit better and kind of relax and enjoy playing and have some success as a result of that.”