Volleyball begins OVC play Friday on road

Tom O'Connor and Kaitlin Cordes, Volleyball Reporters

The Eastern volleyball team will open up conference play Friday and Saturday with a pair of road matches against Murray State and Austin Peay.

The team is currently 6-6, but coach Sam Wolinski said this weekend will wipe the slate clean.

“We’re 6-6 right now, but the way we look at it is, now, we’re 0-0,” Wolinski said. “It’s a brand new season for all of us in the OVC.”

Wolinski said her team will face two tough opponents as they are two of the better teams in the conference. Murray State was the Ohio Valley Conference champion last season, defeating Southern Illinois-Edwardsville for the title.

The Panthers, brimming with confidence after sweeping the Indiana State Tournament, defeated both Cal State Fullerton and Indiana State Sept. 16. Wolinski said the Indiana State match was intense, calling it a “grit and grind” matchup.

Wolinski said her team should expect similar matches in conference play.

“Conference is a grind, and I say that because—you have to be ready every night to play whether you’re home or away because there aren’t any ‘give me’s,” Wolinski said.

Wolinski said last weekend’s wins were largely due to consistent serves. She added that the wins were team efforts and that even cheers from the bench was a motivating factor for the Panthers.

Wolinski said she hopes her squad will bring that same energy into conference play, too.

“(Tuesday) in practice, I thought we had a great energy, and that’s everybody. That’s what’s going to help us be successful in OVC play,” Wolinski said.

Rachel Giustino and Courtney Radle, the nucleus of the Murray State roster, lead the OVC in kills and assists, respectively. The Racers hope to improve their record to 9-4 on the season, as they anticipate their upcoming match with the Panthers.

The Racers won two of their last three matches in the Alabama Crimson-White Tournament. Their only loss in the tournament was to host Alabama (21-25, 15-25, 25-22, 15-25).

Austin Peay has, at this juncture of the season, out-paced opponents at both kills and assists. On average, the Governors exceed their competition, with nearly two more kills and assists per game. Governors’ middle, Ashley Slay, was a candidate for the OVC offensive player of the week. Slay’s 203 kills leads the team for the 2017 season.

Wolinski said the veteran leadership on her team will help the squad face their first OVC competition.

“The older ones can really help the newbies because they’ve been through it,” Wolinski said. “There’s a little bit of a different mindset. The focus level definitely increases.”

Friday’s match at Murray State begins at 7 p.m. The Panthers will travel to Austin Peay for a 2 p.m. match at the Winfield Dunn Center.

Tom O’Connor and Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]