The Eastern volleyball team enters the weekend with a chance to take possession of first place overall in the Ohio Valley Conference as it faces two east division foes.

The Panthers, who are 9-8 overall and 3-1 in the OVC, take their three-game win streak on the road to play Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

“We’re 3-1 in conference, that’s really exciting,” Eastern middle hitter Stephanie Arnold said. “We have a three-game winning streak, and that is always a huge plus for us. We’re going to continue that in conference, keep with the energy and excitement.”

Morehead State currently sits in first place in the OVC, as the Eagles 4-0 record has them as the only undefeated team in the conference; they are 13-5 overall this season.

However, the Eagles have won nine of their last 10 games. All four of their conference wins have come as three-set sweeps — including over defending OVC champion and preseason No. 1 Belmont.

Middle hitter Hannah Sigala is third in the OVC in conference games with a .408 hit percentage, but she is hitting just .168 overall on the season.

Sigala is third in the OVC with 1.08 blocks per set in conference matches. Eastern middle hitter Stephanie Arnold trails her in fourth with 1.06 blocks per set.

Arnold has the upper hand on Sigala in attack, though, as her .430 hit percentage is second best in the OVC through conference play.

Morehead State does not have a player inside the top-10 in kills per set among the OVC, but it does have five players with more than 100 kills on the season.

Outside hitter Courtney Smith leads the Eagles with 2.98 kills per set. She is also second with 2.84 digs per set.

Eastern Kentucky, meanwhile, is 8-10 overall and 1-3 in conference. The Colonels are on a three-game losing streak — all in the OVC — after reeling off a three-game win streak right before.

The Colonels last three games have all come as straight set losses to Belmont, Morehead State and Austin Peay. Their lone win came in their OVC opener against Tennessee State in three sets.

The Colonels do not have a single player in the top-10 among the OVC in kills per set, hit percentage, blocks per set or assists per set through conference play.

However, libero Dena Ott is third in the OVC with .50 service aces per set. She leads the Colonels who are No. 2 in the OVC with 1.56 service aces per set. Ott is also fifth in the OVC with 4.42 digs per set.

Eastern will play Morehead State at 6 p.m. Friday in Morehead, Ky. It will then play Eastern Kentucky at 1 p.m. Saturday in Richmond, Ky.

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcatezone@eiu.edu.