The volleyball team’s quest for an Ohio Valley Conference title and an NCAA tournament bid begins tonight as the Panthers will play host to Central Michigan, Wright State and the University of Montana at the Super 8 Invitational in Lantz Arena. The tournament continues through Saturday.

Eastern’s season begins tonight at 7 p.m. against Wright State. The Panthers will play two matches on Saturday, the first at 1 p.m. against CMU and the final at 7 p.m. against Montana.

Eastern’s head volleyball coach Brenda Winkeler said two freshmen – setter Lindsay Perkins and outside hitter Erica Gerth – will be in the starting lineup for the Panthers’ first match of the season.

Senior outside hitter Amy Heimann will return to the starting lineup after shoulder surgery. She will play the back row, instead of her usual spot in the front. Seniors Carrie Stevens, Marcia Hahn, and junior Karen Liss will also start.

“You never know what to expect when you’re playing non-conference games,” Winkeler said. “It should be a pretty balanced tournament.”

The matches will also debut the new rally scoring system, which unlike in traditional scoring, a point can be scored on every play.

“That’ll make things interesting,” Winkeler said. “Getting off to a good start will be key. Blocking and defense will be important in making that happen.”

For Wright State, the Panthers’ first opponent in the tourney, the key for the squad will be defense. With seven players on the roster above the 6-foot mark, the Raiders (11-17, 4-8 in the Horizon League) have a tall presence on the defensive side.

Among Wright State’s 11 returnees from last year’s squad, only one is senior.

“I think it’s really important to get off to a good start,” Wright State head coach Joylynn Tracy said. “We’ve got some young players on the team and we need to get confidence in ourselves early.”

Tracy is in her fourth year as head coach of the Raiders.

The last time the two teams met in 1997, the Raiders won 3-0. The Panthers have a 6-4 edge in the all-time series between the two teams. Senior 6-foot-1 middle hitter Liza Osterhage will lead the charge against the Panthers.

“It’s a really even playing field,” Tracy said. “We’re all pretty even. It’s going to be good competiton and a lot of fun. The level of volleyball will be pretty good all around, and we’re excited abou that.”

Central Michigan returns six players from last year’s squad that finished with a 15-16 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the Mid-American Conference. The squad has only two starters returning from last season

This year, the team was picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the west division of the MAC in a preseason coaches’ poll.

The Panthers will have their hands full with senior Kristin Tack who averaged 2.96 kills a game last season. Melissa Reynolds, last year’s Division II National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year, will add to CMU’s offensive attack.

This is the team’s first meeting since 1990, when CMU won 3-1.

Montana, the biggest school in the tourney returns seven from a team that