The women’s volleyball team will look to stop a modest two-match losing streak this weekend as the Panthers travel to Peoria for the Mark Twain Hotels Invitational.

Although it’s only the second week of the season, head coach Brenda Winkeler knows the significance of the tournament for the Panthers after a pair of tough losses to Drake and Saint Louis.

“It’s very important to come back with a strong showing,” Winkeler said. “This weekend we need to start some positive momentum. The last few games we haven’t played aggressive like we did in our wins, and we need to play aggressive this weekend.”

The Panthers (2-2) will open the tournament Friday against Maryland-Baltimore County. The Retrievers had a successful year in 2002 going 17-12, but they have struggled this year with a 1-2 record despite the play of junior outside hitter Jocelyn Teoh. The Puchong, Malaysia native, suffered through an injury-plagued 2002 season, but is back on track this year. She has recorded 22 kills and 19 digs in the Retriever’s first tournament.

“Looking over the scouting report Jocelyn Teoh hits the ball twice as much as anyone on their team,” Winkeler said. “Overall, they are a young team just like us.”

On Saturday, the Panthers will play two matches, starting off with a morning contest against host Bradley. Similar to Maryland-Baltimore County, Bradley is off to a slow start this season. The Braves lost all three matches at the University Plaza Holiday Inn Classic in Fort Collins, Colo., to start their season 0-3.

“Bradley is coming off a good year last year, but they lost a lot of seniors,” Winkeler said. “So, they are inexperienced and very young.”

With a pair of untested teams in the tournament, Winkeler expects to receive the stiffest competition from their final opponent, Bowling Green State University.

The Falcons are 2-1 on the season and are coming off a tournament victory in the Boise Invitational last weekend. Bowling Green defeated Portland State and Utah Valley State after failing to Boise State in the season opener.

“Bowling Green is a veteran team and they will give us our toughest test,” Winkeler said.

Although Bowling Green is the most experienced team traveling to Peoria, Winkeler said the tournament is wide open.

“All of the teams are evenly matched,” Winkeler said. “If we play well, we will win the tournament.”

The Mark Twain Hotels Invitational will be the second of four early season tournaments for the Panthers. Last year Eastern played in three tournaments, but Winkeler is not complaining about the extra matches for her team.

“Most years we can play only three tournaments because that is all we have room to schedule,” Winkeler said. “This year we were able to schedule an extra tournament and it is beneficial to our team because we are so young.”