The Eastern volleyball team will take on Southern Illinois Edwardsville in a rare midweek matchup on Wednesday in Lantz Arena.

The Panthers are coming off a five-set loss against Morehead State on Saturday. Eastern defeated Eastern Kentucky the day before.

The Panthers already played SIUE earlier in the year, beating them 3-1.

While both teams match up pretty well, as the last match ended 3-2, both teams have different approaches to the match. Eastern already has a guaranteed spot in the OVC tournament, but SIUE is still fighting to get in.

SIUE is tied in the eighth and final spot with Tennessee Tech. Both schools have 5-9 records.

“I think the good thing for us is we’re in a way different situation coming into this game than SIUE is,” coach Sam Wolinski said. “We know where we’re at, we know pretty much seeding wise where we’re going to be. They’re battling to get into the tournament. It’s a different mindset for them than it is for us.”

The Panthers are currently in third in the OVC standings with a 10-4 record.

Wolinski said that SIUE’s record does not show how talented the team actually is and knows that they will play a tough match.

“When they’re on, they’re on,” Wolinski said.

Kristen Torre plays in the middle for SIUE and leads the team in kills with 323. Torre is one of the main targets on the court for the Cougars.

Wolinski said that stopping Torre will be key in getting the win. They know that she will be set regardless, but will have to keep them out of system as much as possible.

Offensively for the Panthers, getting their serve and pass game will also be key in getting a win.

The Panthers’ first road win came against SIUE earlier in the season, but Wolinski said that the team is excited to get back home after playing the past two weekends on the road.

Wolinski said that it was a gut check win and it is going to be the same thing this time around.

The match is set to start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Lantz Arena.

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]