Eastern volleyball player Melanie Boykins is listed as a middle blocker on the Eastern athletic Web site, but recently she has made the move to the outside position.

Already, she is making the adjustment.

In Eastern’s four-set match win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Saturday, Boykins finished with 11 kills, while also having a dig total of nine.

Boykins, a sophomore, said while she is still getting used to the new position, she believes she can still remain effective on the court.

“The outside is completely different than the middle blocker position,” Boykins said. “The middle blocker position is more for blocking and the setups are different than the outside, but I do feel like I get a decent amount of kills.”

Boykins said because she is playing on the outside, she is focusing on passing.

“On the outside you pass a lot,’ Boykins said. “While if you’re playing middle you don’t pass at all.”

Eastern volleyball head coach Alan Segal said this season Boykins has turned her game into more of an offensive threat with good blocking skills.

“This year we had to play her on the outside so she has to pass more and play a little bit more defense than she has in the past, but obviously her blocking and offensive skills are a couple of her strengths,” Segal said.

On the season, Boykins has accounted for 220 kills, which is second best on the team. She also ranks third on the team in serving aces with 15.

Segal said Boykins’ athleticism has allowed her to make the quick adjustment between positions.

“Boykins) is a really good athlete. She has the ability to play a lot of different positions. She has played both the middle and outside positions for us this season,” Segal said. “She continues to improve with each practice and down the road, I feel she is going to develop into a really good player.”

Boykins said the changes from last year’s volleyball schemes into coaches Segal’s system have been a welcomed change.

“The transition went pretty well for everyone,” Boykins said. “Last year, we slow blocked and now we do more of a traditional blocking system, which I feel allows for a lot less blocking errors.”

Teammate Alex Zwettler, a junior outside hitter, said despite Boykins’ new focus on passing, she still remains one of the team’s most reliable offensive threats.

“She is one of our go-to hitters, so when we need somebody to hit the ball down, we look to her,” Zwettler said.

Boykins and the rest of the team snapped a nine-game losing streak with the victory over the Cougars Saturday.

They have spent most of the season on the road, but begin a season-ending six-game home stand Oct. 30 when they host Tennessee Martin.

The Panthers face SIU-E one more time this season in their season finale Nov. 14.

Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or jnschneider@eiu.edu.

Sophomore middle blocker Melanie Boykins is currently second on the team in kills this season with 220. She put up 13 kills and nine digs in Saturday’s victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, a win that snapped a nine-game losing streak for the team.

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