Eastern’s volleyball team will have its last chance to win a playoff berth.

Eastern (8-22) will have to defeat Tennesse-Martin on Friday and Murray State on Saturday to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament..

In order for Eastern to win against Tennessee-Martin it needs to have good right side blocking according to Winkeler. To beat Murray State, Eastern will have to concentrate hitting more on the left side.

“We have to put on a good performance because of our inexperienced setting this weekend,” said Winkeler. “We have to build off of our good match last Saturday.”

So far this season has been rough for Eastern by winning only eight of its 30 matches this year. Inconsistency and trouble with confidence have been a big part of that.

“Our big issue was confidence this year,” said coach Brenda Winkeler. “We ‘ve had a lot of close matches and lost. When you have a young team like us it hurts the confidence a lot more than it would if the team was older and more experienced.”

Tennessee-Martin (6-24) has also struggled this season. The Skyhawks are coming off of a win against Tennessee State. Before that win, the last victory they had was in the beginning of October.

The standout players for Tennessee-Martin are Jamie Fitzwater and Heather Kea. Fitzwater (senior outside hitter) leads the Skyhawks in kills (353) and is in a close second to leading the team in digs (294). The dig leader of the team is Kea (senior outside hitter) with 301.

Murray State (13-11) has been doing very well this year. Murray State is currently on a five game winning streak coming into their game with Eastern. Murray State clinched their playoff berth on Halloween.

The standout players of this team are Lili Zahn, and Paige Sun. Zahn, a freshman outside hitter, who was named the OVC defensive player of the week. She was awarded with this because of her 20/20 the night before with 20 kills and 24 digs. Sun, a sophomore outside hitter, leads the team in kills (404) and in digs (348).

Eastern will need a big weekend from Erica Gerth, Mary Welch, Heather Redenbo and Megan Kennedy for any chances of extending its season.

Gerth was named all-tournament in three out of the four tournaments Eastern played in this year. Gerth was also the OVC player of the week for defense for setting a school record for most digs in a single game.

Welch (freshman outside hitter) was the most improved player of the team in the eyes of Winkeler. Redenbo (sophomore left side) seems to always come through for Eastern. Kennedy set an Eastern record for blocking in the same game that Gerth hit her 1,000th kill.