The Eastern volleyball team finished its season just before Thanksgiving break with a loss to No. 3 Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The No. 7 Panthers pushed the Racers to four sets at 25-21, 24-26, 19-25 and 17-25 in the semifinals round of the conference tournament after outing No. 2 Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the first round.

Eastern put up a fight in the first set starting with an early 6-0 run following a Murray State error. The Racers were the first to score in the set, however, but the Panthers would soon quell Murray State’s lead, breaking a 4-4 tie.

The second set looked promising for Eastern as it once again began with a run, but Murray State answered with a run of its own. Murray State did not back down for the remainder of the match, snatching the remaining sets.

Eastern finished its season 15-15 overall and 9-9 in the conference. Despite dropping the semifinals match, the Panthers had a much better season than the last. Last year, Eastern finished 5-26 overall and 2-14 in the OVC.

Junior setter Taylor Smith said the team’s redirected mindset made the difference this season.

“I think one of the main contributors was the mindset we had going into the season and throughout the season. Although we had a good intentions last season, I personally think we never fully believed in ourselves and the capability we had to succeed on the court,” Smith said.

Eastern had some big wins throughout the season, too. At one point in the season, Eastern Kentucky was at the top of the OVC and the Panhers defeated the Colonels 3-1.

The Panthers notched six sweeps this season with three of them coming over OVC opponents Southeast Missouri, Tennessee Tech and Belmont. Eastern had just two sweeps last season over non-conference opponents Troy and Jackson State.

Smith said her team wanted to give itself a new reputation this year after some of last year’s shortcomings.

“We got stuck in a rut last year and never seemed to be able to work our way out of it. So, this year, we came back wanting to make a name for the EIU volleyball program and show that we are just as good, if not better, than some of the top teams in the OVC,” Smith said.

The Panthers showed they were a solid team this season led by veteran players Smith and seniors Allie Hueston and Maria Brown. Smith said one of her goals this season was to lead the nation in triple doubles, and she did so by earning 10 of them this season.

Smith said that losing the seniors for next season will have a big impact on the squad.

“Not only were they great volleyball players, but they were also great leaders, role models and friends. They all came in this year with high expectations and standards for us as a team to be successful this year,” Smith said.

The team will lose four seniors including Hueston, Brown, Josie Winner and Hayley Richardson. Smith and junior middle Abby Knight will be the only seniors returning for the 2018 season.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or krcordes@eiu.edu