Eastern volleyball has seen a reversal in their early season trend that previously led to a couple of disappointing years.

The Panthers and head coach Brenda Winkeler have employed a theory that allows for a slow start, as long as the team turns it around by the time they start playing Ohio Valley Conference opponents.

“I said to the team back in May that early success may be the most important facet of the year for us,” Winkeler said. “So this year we focused on the early games and wanted to make sure that we came into the conference part of our schedule with some confidence.”

That could be the case this year, considering they won only two of their non-conference matches a season ago.

But in three tournaments this season, the Panthers have lost only three matches and finished second in each tournament.

Their overall record at this point is 8-3 compared to their record at this time last year, which was 3-11.

So now that the Panthers are entering the OVC portion of their schedule with a boost of confidence after a successful run against non-conference opponents, the players and the coach are excited to get the conference competition underway.

“I know that I always look forward to conference play,” senior outside hitter Erica Gerth said. “I am familiar with all of these teams now that I have played them the last three years.

“We can prepare for these teams easier because we know who to key on and how to attack them. In that sense, it is easier than playing non-conference teams.”

The Panthers will open with two straight games on the road. Tennessee Tech will be their first opponent.

While the Panthers finished seventh in the OVC with a 6-10 conference record last season, the Golden Eagles were one of the three teams to finish below the Panthers.

“They have brought back a lot of the same players, so they could be a team to look for as far as improving,” Winkeler said. “Offensively, we think we can do a good job against them because they use spread blocking just like DePaul did, and we were pretty successful against DePaul.”

The Panthers lost both matches against Tennessee Tech last year and came away disappointed they didn’t play their best in either match.

“I think we are a different team than we were a year ago,” Gerth said. “We didn’t play our best in either match against them last year, and there is a little bit of vengeance for us.”

The Panthers continue on the road to Austin Peay, one of the OVC’s toughest teams.

“Again, because we have changed from last year, we might just be able to surprise some people,” Gerth said. “It is really tough to go there and win. I don’t think we’ve won there since I’ve been here, but that is one of our major goals for the season.”

The chance to fulfill that goal will be when the Panthers play the Governors Saturday, after Eastern plays Tennessee Tech on Friday.