After posting a perfect 3-0 record and winning the IPFW Invitational the Eastern Volleyball team returns home looking to continue success on Tuesday when they take on Indiana State.

The match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in Lantz Arena.

This mid-week contest is the only one the Panthers will be playing as they are scheduled to play three more weekend invitational matches until Sept. 19 before the Ohio Valley Conference starts Sept. 25.

Playing a match at home is always exciting for any team according to volleyball coach Sam Wolinski.

“I think they’re excited especially because they’re not used to having such an early home match,” Wolinski said. “The opportunity to play early in the season here in Lantz is exciting for all of us.”

A lot of the players have played a match in Lantz Arena before, but for Wolinski this will be her first time coaching in the stadium.

Wolinski said she is nervous, as she usually is, before a match but is excited for the opportunity to coach in Eastern’s home arena.

She added that there is more excitement coming back into play, since the match is at home, after what the team did over the weekend.

“Around the EIU community, everybody’s been congratulating the girls and everything on their weekend,” Wolinski said.

The Panthers will now be able to show everyone what they can do on the court.

Indiana State has strong outside players, which are their go-to players on the court. The team also has a strong right side so the Panthers will have to make sure their block is taking care of business.

The Panthers serve- receive and side out game was strong and a big part in why they were so successful over the weekend and the team said they are looking to continue it.

“That’s going to be crucial to our success against Indiana State,” Wolinski said.

Indiana State can also push and run, according to Wolinski, when he said that they can’t let that get to them and they just have to stick to their style of volleyball.

The Sycamores are not in the OVC but the Panthers know the importance of this game and playing a good team like Indiana State will help them get better.

The Panthers have had three matches to get comfortable playing with each other and Wolinski believes that and having trust in each other was a big reason why they were successful over the weekend and can be against Indiana State.

After having the success they did over the weekend, the Panthers know they still need to still have to stay focused on their game.

“We can’t afford to get complacent,” Wolinski said. “We need to take care of what we need to take care of and make ourselves better while also thinking about what Indiana State is going to do.”

The team’s biggest thing that they tell themselves is to get one percent better every hit, and they can be successful.

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or smhastings@eiu.edu