Winning and losing is meaningless tonight.

At least, as far as stats go.

The Panthers (11-16, 4-14 OVC) are eliminated from the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Nov. 15.

Murray State (15-12, 12-5) clinched a berth Nov. 2 with a 3-0 win against Eastern Kentucky and holds onto the fourth spot in the OVC standings.

Eastern will travel to play the Racers today for its last road match of the 2007 season.

Though the Panthers may not have a postseason tournament to play for, they say they are planning to play the match just as hard.

Eastern head coach Lori Bennett said she would continue to try to win every match for the remainder of the season.

Bennett said the Panthers could still send a message to other teams: They will not give up.

Players on the team agree.

Sophomore setter Laura Welsh said after the Samford loss, she still played hard.

She said she was grateful for her playing time.

“It felt good (to play),” Welsh said. “I’ve been working really hard to prove myself and do whatever I can for the team.”

Bennett has recently been playing more of the players on the team, especially younger players and the team members with the least experience.

Bennett had said she wanted to get more of the team experience on the floor because many will return next season.

She said she knows it will take time for most of these players to get used to their new roles and, for some, positions.

Freshman outside hitter Erin Hake has been an example of this, as she had increased minutes in the past four matches. Hake has been playing outside hitter and libero the past few matches.

“(Hake) has done a pretty good job for us,” Bennett said. “She is still settling into that position, but she hasn’t had that much experience. Obviously, she has had experience in high school and club teams, but more so as a hitter.”

This will be the second meeting of the two teams this season.

The Racers shut out the Panthers 3-0 on Sept. 22 during the Panthers longest losing streak of the season – seven matches.

Murray was able to turn its season around during the time when it defeated Eastern. The Racers were 5-8 and 2-2 in the OVC before they defeated the Panthers. Eastern was the third victory in a row for the Racers, which eventually led to a 10-match winning streak.

Eastern briefly turned things around, winning its first OVC victory, but went 4-9 in the conference since losing to Murray.

Murray is ranked second in the OVC with a .210 hitting percentage, while Eastern is ranked at ninth with a .178.

The Panthers, however, are better at blocking in statistics and in serving aces as well.

Eastern ranks at eighth place with 168 blocks and second in aces with 138.

Murray is in the 10th spot with 134 blocks and has 145 serving aces.