Going into the final part of the season, the Panthers are looking to finish strong in conference play. They continue their road conference schuedule Thursday when they take on the Otahkians of Southeast Missouri. Earlier in the season, the Panthers defeated the Otahkians in four games at Lantz Arena.

The Panthers look to pick off where they started last Saturday night against Tennesee-Martin said freshman outside hitter Mary Welch.

“We tried really hard in the match and put everything out on the court,” she said. “We left some of that effort out on the court.”

For the past couple of days the Panthers have started to prepare for the Otahkians by going over their game plan and talking about what they have to do to be successful, Welch said.

“The big thing we need is to play together as team and give it all we have. We know we can beat these teams,” Welch said.

Both teams know each other pretty well in conference play Welch said. The first match these two teams played was fought well. The Panthers prevailed 30-15, 30-26, 28-30 and 30-19 in the first match. Erica Gerth, Nikki Fowler and Leanne Kreps all had big games.

In this series, the team who has won the first match has gone on to sweep the season series since Eastern joined the OVC.

Welch expects this match to be as tough as the first match. She sees two advantages that the Panthers have over the Otahkians. The first advantage she sees is the Panther’s depth in each position. The second advantage is the Panthers back row.

“The back row is looking good with everyone coming together and playing really well” Welch said.

The Panthers will be looking for key performances from Heather Redenbo, Gerth and Welch. Likewise, the Otahkians will be looking for key performances from Suzanne Gundlach (3.51 kills/match), Sarah Frost (3.17 kills) and Jill Miller (3.26 digs/match). They are in the top 10 of each category in the OVC.

Coming into the final month of conference play, Welch is certain of one thing.

“Everyone is going out on the court to win and things are going to be intense,” she said.