Lori Bennett is haunted by the memory of a recent loss.

The Eastern head coach lost in a way she detests the most: by giving up a lead.

The Panthers gave up a two game lead in a Sept. 15 match to Tennessee State to eventually lose in five games.

“We should not have lost that match,” Bennett said. “We want another crack at them.”

Bennett had said earlier in the season that they should have won and would have won if they could have kept up their “high-level” of play and kept focused.

Bennett’s team shares her mentality on the subject.

Senior outside hitter Eliza Zwettler said she hates the way the Panthers lost last time.

The Madison, Wis. native said Eastern has improved since then with their attitude and ability on the court.

“The biggest change we have made is we have a much more competitive attitude,” she said. “We gave them the match last time. And that kind of thing is always in the back of your mind.”

Zwettler said she thinks the Tigers might be overlooking them this time because of their 2-9 record and ninth spot in the OVC standings.

But she expects the Tigers to be better for the next match as well.

“They might be a stronger team,” she said. “They have knocked off a couple big teams lately. And their outside hitters are playing much more aggressively.”

Assistant head coach Amy Schreiber made a similar comment about the Panther’s improvement since the last match against the Tigers.

Schreiber said the team has been gelling well together and the players have been practicing well this week.

The Panthers will get a chance to redeem themselves at 6 p.m. today in Lantz Arena when Tennessee State visits.

The Tigers are in the third spot in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 9-3 record. TSU had a five-match winning streak started Sept. 25 and ran until Oct. 6 when they were swept by Murray State.

The Tigers will not be the only team the Panthers will have to deal with this weekend – the Panthers will also play Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday.

This will be the second time this season the Panthers will face the Golden Eagles. In their last meeting on Sept. 14, the Panthers lost in 1-3 (31-29, 21-30, 25-30, 18-30).

The Golden Eagles head coach John Blair, in his fifth season, says he is not overlooking the Panthers despite beating them earlier in the season.

“Eastern is playing a lot of young players and as they play they are sure to improve and mature,” Blair said. “They have a lot of freshmen playing in vital positions and motivated to play more consistently.

Eastern has had a lack of consistency this season, but I’m sure they are focused on that and improving that area.”