Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” might be a chart topper for Eastern volleyball, as this past month hasn’t been kind to the Panthers this year or in years past.

The ninth month saw Eastern head coach Lori Bennett’s squad stagger to a 1-11 record. This includes being swept in straight sets in nine consecutive matches and surrendering their first five Ohio Valley Conference matches.

“It’s frustrating,” Bennett said. “There is little doubt (this year) couldn’t be good.”

Eastern didn’t have a fun September last year either.

After beginning the month 3-1, the Panthers stumbled through a five-match losing streak in OVC matches and finished September with a 4-7 record.

Struggling to win a set isn’t a novel concept for the Eastern in the month of September.

The Panthers were swept in straight sets for at least three matches in a row in 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995.

Senior middle hitter Lauren Sopcic has been through these tough Septembers the last three seasons. She said she knows her team hasn’t pulled out victories consistently in September, but that’s not the reason for losing.

“It’s not necessarily September, but starting conference,” Sopcic said. “We get very anxious and want to play our hardest and we forget the simplest things that could lead to a win. Part of it is we want to win so bad that we have to go back to the basics.”

Sopcic is right. This month has seen 253 Panther errors, many of them committed at crucial times. Eastern’s hitting percentage has also sunk to .106.

Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Orr said this year’s slow start could be attributed to Eastern’s relative youth. The Panthers have five freshmen and four sophomores. Five of the six starters are frequently underclassman, and junior libero Shaina Boylan’s absence is not helping causes either.

“It’s mainly getting people comfortable,” Orr said of winning again. “It’s tough without a lot of upperclassmen.”

According to Orr, being short on skill and ability isn’t the reason for the current slide.

Poor execution has been the reason behind the Panthers’ September losses.

“It’s us putting it all together,” Orr said. “Compared to everything else, it is easy to learn how to play together. It is not skill, talent, coaching, etc. It’s an easy problem to come back from.”

Bennett said October is a new month and the team has to look forward and not dwell on failure.

“We are working on fixing it,” Bennett said. “If we spent time on the frustration, nothing would get done.”

October is a new month and a new opportunity for the Panthers to create reasons to erase a forgettable September.

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.