Despite its recent cold spell, the Eastern volleyball team has seen improvement this season from last.

Though the team is only 7-10 overall and 1-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Panthers already have two more wins than they had all of last season.

The Panthers have shown signs of improvement throughout the season, and assistant coach Shaina Boylan said that is all the team has been working on doing.

“We all want to get better, and prove to everyone that we’ve got what it takes to be good,” said Boylan, who was a libero on last year’s squad.

Though the Panthers still have had some trouble closing out sets so far this season, the feeling of improvement can certainly be felt.

October a big month

A key factor that may decide how the 2009 Panthers are remembered is the month of October.

By Sept. 29, of last season, the Panthers sat at 3-12 overall and 0-5 in OVC play.

They had just been swept in three sets by Jacksonville State, were in a nine-game losing streak, and things were beginning to look gloomy for the rest of the season.

The 2009 team has seen vast improvements from a year ago. Just like last year, the Panthers are on a bit of a losing streak, having been defeated in their last three matches, including a four-set loss to Austin Peay Saturday.

However, unlike last year, the 2009 volleyball team has shown it has what it takes to turn things around, having come back from losing streaks and bounce back a number of times already this season.

Last season, the Panthers had a miserable month of October. The team went 1-9 over the course of the month including an eight-game losing streak.

Though the Panthers were pretty much out of contention going into October, losing eight straight games did not help their cause.

This year, the Panthers can start October off right and gain some much needed momentum with a win on the road over Morehead State on Friday.

Revenge in order

The Panthers can also get some revenge on some of the teams who have beaten them so far in OVC play including Jacksonville State, Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State, all of whom will face the Panthers in October.

Though there is a long way left to go in the season, the Panthers feel they are up to the task.

“If we stay focused on the right things, we will do great things,” junior outside hitter Alex Zwettler said.

The Panthers return to action Friday when they travel to Morehead, Ky., to take on Morehead State at 6 p.m.

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