After a long weekend trip out west in Denver, the Eastern volleyball team is finally home.

After playing four games at the Denver Invitational, the Panthers added another two wins and two losses to their record (4-4) as they battled West Virginia, Southern Utah, the University of Denver, and Air Force.

The Panthers began the Denver Invitational just as they left off from last weekend’s tournament in Fort Wayne with a three set loss (30-32, 21-25, 24-26) to West Virginia Friday afternoon.

Eastern head coach Alan Segal said the elevation and time change playing in the Denver Tournament did not play a factor in the team’s performance.

“(It had) none whatsoever. We were just playing the game,” he said. “That’s all you can do.

Though Eastern topped West Virginia in both kills (40-36), and digs (52-42), the Mountaineers proved dominant as they cruised their way to a three set victory to open the tournament. The team was without junior outside hitters Erin Hake and Kelsey Orr because of foot injuries.

The Panthers managed to redeem themselves in their second match of the tournament Friday evening.

Squaring off against Southern Utah, the Panthers emerged victorious in a four set battle, winning three sets to one (23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21).

Junior outside hitter Alex Zwettler recorded her 27th career double-double with 23 kills and 13 digs.

Junior setter Kylie Cavanah also put up a solid performance with a career high 49 sets.

The Panthers win streak was short lived; however, as they were swept in three sets (20-25, 21-25, 16-25) to the host University of Denver Saturday morning.

One bright spot for the Panthers was freshman middle hitter Alison Berens who in her first appearance of the season, put up six kills.

Eastern left Denver on a high note as they swept Air Force in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) to wrap up the tournament.

Zwettler once again led the Panthers with another double-double performance, and freshman middle hitter Stephanie Arnold ended up with eight blocks.

“I thought we played real well the last game against Air Force,” Segal said. “They beat Denver early in the tournament so it was good to play them well.”

With a 4-4 record after the tournament, the Panthers are already just one win away from last year’s total.

The Panthers return home for the first time this season at 7 p.m. today as they take on Illinois-Chicago in Lantz Arena.

“It will be great to finally play a game here,” said senior outside hitter Jessica Wheeler. “It’s been hard to get fans to come out to the games the past couple seasons, but hopefully we can change the attitude around this year.”

Kevin Maras can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmaras@eiu.edu.

Head coach Alan Segal talks with his players during practice in the Lantz Fieldhouse on Aug. 31. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

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