Saturday’s match may not have counted for much.

But the volleyball’s alumni match meant a good deal to the current and former Panthers.

It was a unique experience for the Panthers as it had a mix of fun and competition within one match with familiar faces.

It was a chance for the current roster Panthers to meet with former teammates, but also to face some competition besides each other.

“I knew most of the girls from the alumni team,” said sophomore Shaina Boylan. “It was a lot of fun and it was good to get to see some variety of players, instead of playing against ourselves.”

The returning alumni got a chance play the game again and put on some familiar uniform colors.

Mary Brown, a 1982 alumna, said it felt great to return to the Lantz Arena to play volleyball again.

“Playing today brought back a lot of memories,” she said.

The current Panthers as well as alumni said they were excited to see Brown play and were impressed with play.

“Mary played so well,” said last year graduate Mary Welch. “I hope I play as well as she does at her age.”

Coach Lori Bennett was happy with both her team’s performance and the chance to see the alumni return to play against her team.

“It was a lot of fun to have the girls back,” she said. “We could count on them to be competitive. It was nice to see them in Eastern uniforms.

Bennett said she was happy with her team’s performance. The Panthers won the match 3-0, winning game one 30-15, game two 30-15 and game three 30-14.

Bennett said her team was a little nervous coming into the match, but she attributed that to a majority of the team being younger. The current roster is filled with underclassmen as it has five freshmen, six sophomores, one junior and two seniors.

She said the younger girls have changed the environment by not bringing their frustrations into the gym and not bringing any out as well.

Bennett said she liked the numbers she saw her team put up.

She said she was not surprised by her team’s performance, as this is what she has been getting day in and day out at practice.

“Statistically, we did some very good things,” she said.

Returning senior Eliza Zwettler had a solid match with 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage. The Panthers had their best stats in game two when they had a .531 hitting percentage and only two errors.

Welch led the alumni team with seven kills and a .130 overall hitting average.

She said she was impressed with how this year’s roster was shaping up.

“It was fun to compete against them since I’ve already played with them,” Welch said. “They have improved so much. They’re fast, and they have improved on their communication since last season.”

Both Welch and Brown said they see this current squad going far this season.

“I know they’re ranked 9th, but I don’t think they deserve that,” Welch said. “They’re a younger and faster team. I think they’ll make it to the OVC Tournament this year.”