Though only 12 matches have been played so far this season, injuries have been a problem for the Eastern volleyball team.

Early this month, just before the Denver Invitational, the team was dealt a blow as two of its junior outside hitters, Erin Hake and Kelsey Orr, sustained foot injuries.

Orr injured herself in practice, while Hake stepped on a piece of glass outside of volleyball.

Though Eastern played well in the Denver Classic going 2-2 in the tournament, the team put up a couple of disappointing performances in the Indiana State Classic this past week.

“We’ve had to play without some of our starters, but we still need to finish matches,” said head coach Alan Segal.

Missing two veteran players is never good for any team, but the Panthers have found some positives out of the situation.

“We just need to worry about our side of the net,” junior outside hitter Alex Zwettler said.

With two veterans temporarily unavailable, many of the newcomers, including a few freshmen, have stepped up and shown they can compete at the college level.

Among the many who have stepped in and contributed to the success of the team has been freshman middle hitter Stephanie Arnold.

In the Panthers’ home opener against Illinois-Chicago, Arnold made the most of her opportunity by stuffing 25 attacks.

Another freshman who has made a big impact on the team has been defensive specialist Mattie Watts.

Even in a three-set loss against Indiana State on Saturday at the Indiana State Classic, Watts notched 11 digs and has shown in other matches she will be a great player to have on the team looking forward.

Going into the Indiana State Invitational last weekend, another freshman, middle hitter Andrea Johnson, had the best Panther attack mark with a .318 average.

With these and many other young players performing well, the future of Eastern volleyball looks bright.

Looking ahead to the first match in Ohio Valley Conference play this Friday against Jacksonville State, the Panthers will need these young newcomers to keep performing as the team hopes to improve upon its current 6-6 record, especially in the OVC.

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