The quest for an Ohio Valley Conference tournament spot will be placed on hold momentarily as Eastern travels to the Alumni Gym on the campus of Loyola University for a non-conference showdown with the Ramblers.

The Panthers will enter the contest winners of two of their last three matches. Eastern sandwiched a loss to Southeast Missouri Thursday, between wins against Tennessee-Martin (10/25) and a road victory in Nashville against Tennessee State Friday.

In the win versus Tennessee State, Eastern put together its best hitting percentage of the season with a .367 clip. Eastern head coach Brenda Winkeler credited the increased hitting ability to the play of Panthers setters Nikki Fowler and Leanne Kreps.

“Both (Nikki and Leanne) setters are doing a better job,” Winkeler said. “They’re getting the offense the ball in good position and we’re taking advantage of that.”

Both Eastern setters produced double digit assists against Tennessee State. Kreps, a freshman from Forsyth, led the way with 23, while Fowler, a sophomore from Sullivan, chimed in with 13 assists.

It’s important the Panthers are playing arguably their best volleyball of the season, because Loyola is one of the better teams the Panthers have faced. The Ramblers have won their last six matches and have a 14-13 record including an 8-3 spot in the Horizon League. While Loyola does have 13 losses, many have come against top schools including Georgia, Northwestern, Northern Illinois and Mississippi. Because of their ability, the Ramblers have earned the praise of Winkeler.

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“Loyola is a very good team,” Winkeler said. “They’re 8-3 in the Horizon league and that is traditionally a conference that gets two spots in the NCAA tournament, with one being an at-large spot.”

Leading the Ramblers offensive attack is senior Jorie Miguel. The outside hitter from Algonquin has played in 90 of the Ramblers 91 games and has the highest hitting percentage on the team at .289. Miguel ranks third in kills with 280 and averages roughly three per game. She is a force passing the ball with 87 assists and has 20 of the Ramblers 168 service aces.

“Jorie Miguel really keys the Ramblers good right side,” Winkeler said. “We have to contain her and also the Ramblers good setters.”

Lauren Holbrook is the best of Loyola’s strong setters. The junior from Indianapolis, Ind., was named to the 2002 All-Horizon League Team. That honor came one season after Holbrook was selected as the 2001 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year. Holbrook hasn’t let up this season with totals of 995 assists and an average of 11.5 per game.

On the Panthers side, expect another solid game from junior outside hitter Erica Gerth. Over the last three games, Gerth has averaged over 17 kills including a career-high 29 in the Panthers four-game victory against Tennessee-Martin.

Gerth’s teammate in the middle Shanna Ruxer has also been on a tear of late. The middle hitter has had hitting percentages over .500 the last two matches and for the season leads Panther regulars with a .241 percentage.

The match will be the Panthers last against non-conference opponents. Eastern has struggled against teams out of the OVC with a 4-12 record, but Winkeler said the team is looking forward to the match.

“We’re going through a tough stretch of the season, but it’s good to make the trip to the Chicagoland,” Winkeler said. “A lot of our kids know their players so we have a rivalry with them, but it should be a fun match.”