Tonight the Panthers will continue their Ohio Valley Conference schedule against Murray State in Lantz Arena at 7:05 p.m.

The eastern volleyball team went 0-2 against the Racers last year, so it will be looking to reverse that trend, starting tonight.

Eastern came out of this past weekend losing two matches to the Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

As far as projecting to the rest of the season, junior setter Chrissie Albers said the Panthers want to improve on their performances this year as well as last season.

“We don’t want a repeat of last season or the last two games,” Albers said. “We’re working hard to prove people wrong again and make a better showing.”

The Panthers finished last season with a record of 11-21 overall and 3-14 in the OVC.

Eastern is currently 7-7 overall, but the Panthers are 0-2 in conference.

Sophomore middle hitter Alison Berens said Eastern definitely wants to avenge their first two losses of the OVC schedule.

“Since they came in and beat us on our court, they definitely want to go in and squish them on their court,” Berens said.

After the losses this weekend, Eastern will have a chance to play both teams again.

The Panthers play at Morehead, Ky. Oct. 16.

They will take on Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky. on Oct. 29.

The Panthers play each of their OVC opponents twice this year, once at Lantz Arena and once on the road.

One exception to this is Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, which Eastern will only play at Edwardsville due to a scheduling conflict with Lantz Arena.

The Panthers are looking to bounce back from the two weekend losses and have a strong showing against Murray State.

“We went to five (sets) with Murray last year at home,” Berens said. “So we’re hoping to take that this time around.”

Going into the match with Murray, the Panthers will look to rebound and get back on the right track in the OVC.

The Panthers will also be looking to work on the same things as they have been for most of this season; just taking care of their side of the court and cutting down on their errors.

“We definitely want to boost our record up a little bit more by beating them, so that’s what we plan on doing, kicking their butts,” Berens said.

Brad Kupiec can be reached at 581-7944 or at bmkupiec@eiu.edu

Senior outside hitter Alex Zwettler serves the ball against Eastern Kentucky Saturday evening in Lantz Arena. (Audrey Sawyer

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