Two weeks removed from their last match, the Eastern volleyball team will go into its final two games of the season against Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville this weekend with a well-rested squad.

The Panthers have had two weeks of practice and rest, and with nothing to lose going into their final two games, the Panthers believe that they can come out with one, if not two victories.

“We are hoping to end on a good note this season and get two wins to end off the year,” said junior outside hitter Alex Zwettler.

To do that the Panthers will have to go through familiar opponents in SIU-Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri.

The Panthers have already disposed of SIU-Edwardsville earlier on in the season, and if handled correctly, the 8-9 Southeast Missouri Redhawks should be able to be put away as well.

Revenge against Southeast Missouri

The Panthers can begin their final weekend of the season with some revenge as they square off against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks who earlier on in the season handed the Panthers an ugly defeat.

The Redhawks swept Eastern in three straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) Oct. 16 and embarrassed them in front of a raucous Southeast Missouri crowd.

The loss brought the Panthers’ mid-season losing skid to nine games and was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the Panthers Ohio Valley Conference playoff hopes.

The Redhawks are struggling as of late which play into Eastern’s favor. They are coming off of a big four set loss (30-28, 31-33, 19-25, 19-25) to Ohio Valley Conference rivals Murray State on Tuesday evening at Racer Arena which put a halt to a four game win streak.

Saturday versus SIU-Edwardsville

The final game at Lantz Arena this season against future OVC opponent SIU-Edwardsville could be trickier for Eastern than they expect.

Though Eastern was able to take care of the Cougars in four sets (26-28, 25-21, 25-12, 25-23), overconfidence could lead to trouble for Eastern in their last game of the season at Lantz Arena.

The Cougars are 1-27 overall, but as Eastern knows, when losses build up, the desire to win becomes even greater.

Jessica Hemann is a bright Cougars leading them with a .420 hitting percentage in their last match and could cause trouble for the Panthers on Saturday. ?

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