A 6-17 team obviously has a few weaknesses, but none may be more glaring for the Eastern volleyball team than their inability to win away from Lantz Arena.

Going into this weekend, the Panthers are 1-13 on the road, with the only win coming against Maryland-Baltimore County on Sept. 5. Since that four game win, the Panthers have lost their last 13 road matches including four to Ohio Valley Conference foes.

The Panthers have had their fair share of tough road losses, with two of them coming in the fifth and final game. While playing in the Panther Invitational on the campus of the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, Eastern lost a five-game match to Illinois State.

Just one week later on Sept. 20, the Panthers dropped a heartbreaker to the Air Force Academy who at the time was 8-4 on the season. After falling behind the Falcons two games to one, the Panthers rallied to win the fourth game 30-28 before losing the fifth game 16-14.

With eight underclassmen on the Panthers’ roster, one excuse for the road futility could be based on inexperience. However, freshmen Leanne Kreps and Mary Welch believe the lack of experience has little to do with the team’s struggles on the road.

“It hasn’t been tough for me to play on the road because I played club volleyball while in high school,” Kreps said. “(With the club team) I went to Chicago and other long trips on a regular basis so this isn’t much different.”

Welch, an outside hitter from Chicago, said the road trips actually improve the team’s chemistry and help form unity among the Panthers.

“I traveled for club volleyball, but the road trips (in college) are different because they are longer,” Welch said. “But I think the road trips are good because we watch movies on the bus and come together as a team.”

Kreps, a setter from Forsyth, said the Panthers sub par road record against OVC opponents comes from other teams simply outplaying them.

“All of the teams in our conference are pretty much even,” Kreps said. “We believe the bottom team can beat the top team and the top team can beat the bottom team. It’s more who comes to play and is the hotter team.”

Panthers head coach Brenda Winkeler put a different spin on the away match troubles. The fourth-year coach said a reason for the Panthers’ lackluster road record is based on being away from the cozy Lantz Arena.

“Some of the struggles are because we’re a young team,” Winkeler said. “But we’re spoiled playing at home. We have a great facility and great crowds cheering us on so it is a lot different on the road.”

Whatever the problem may be, Kreps and Welch still feel the OVC championship is up for grabs. The Panthers currently sit in a tie for seventh-place in the conference, but with a large crowd expected to support Eastern for homecoming weekend anything can happen.

“Yeah, it will be nice to come home,” Kreps said. “We still have two conference games this weekend and two more next weekend so if we step things up in conference we can turn things around.”

Welch said she will rely on a little luck to get the Panthers back on track.

“My fingers are crossed,” Welch said.

The Panthers’ four remaining road opponents (Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, Tennessee-Martin and Murray State) have a combined 15-19 conference record. The toughest challenge will come on Nov. 15 against Murray State who has won all eight conference matches.