*Video not available for Country Inn & Suites Green Bay Tournament

• Eastern Illinois volleyball will begin their 2016 season on the road at the Country Inn & Suites Green Bay Invitational this weeked (Aug. 26-27). The invitational will be hosted by Green Bay in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

• The Panthers are slated for three games in the two-day invite. EIU will open the season facing Stephen F. Austin on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The Panthers will return for the night cap as they will square off against the host team Green Bay at 7 p.m. Eastern Illinois will close out tournament play on Saturday with a single game at 1 p.m. against South Dakota State.

• Second-year head coach Samantha Wolinski and the rest of the Panthers will look to build off of a 16-15 record last season, which included a birth in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed.

• This weekend's Country Inn & Suites Green Bay  Invitational marks the first of four consecutive weekend tournaments for the Panthers in the 2016 season. Following this weekend's action, the Panthers will return to Lantz Arena for their 2016 home opener as Butler will come into town for a single contest on Aug. 30 at 6 p.m.

• Live stats of each upcoming weekend match will be available free via the Green Bay website (http://www.greenbayphoenix.com). 
 
2016 GREEN BAY INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
... all times central

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
EIU vs. Stephen F. Austin ... 10 a.m.
   South Dakota State at Green Bay ... 12:30 p.m.
    South Dakota State vs. Stephen F. Austin ... 4:30 p.m.
EIU at Green Bay ... 7 p.m.
 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27
EIU vs. South Dakota State ... 1 p.m.
  Stephen F. Austin at Green Bay ... 4 p.m.

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YOUNG BUT EXPERIENCED
• The Eastern Illinois volleyball team goes into the 2016 season without a single senior on the roster and only four juniors. The Panthers roster is consisted of nine players listed either at the freshman or sophomore level. Despite losing five letter winners and four starters due to graduation last season, EIU still returns a main core of their team from last year's squad. The Panthers will bring back five letter winners and three starters from last season including preseason All-OVC members Allie Hueston and Taylor Smith.
 
• In 2015 Hueston was named as a member of the All-OVC Team. Hueston finished the regular season with the top hitting mark in OVC games at .386. She finished second on the team in total kills at 299 and finished with a 2.30 kills-per-set average. She helped the Panthers on the defensive side of the net as well as she accumulated a team-high 113 total blocks and a 0.87 blocks-per-set average. Hueston led the Panthers in total points at 386.5. During the year she was also named to the IPFW Mastadon Invitational and DePaul Blue Demon Invitational All-Tournament Teams.

• Smith was named to the 2015 OVC All-Newcomer Team. She set an EIU record with seven triple-doubles last season, which also led the OVC. Smith added eight double-doubles to her impressive freshman campaign. She finished second on the Panthers in both assists (634) and digs (331). Smith finished the conference portion of the schedule ranked in the top 10 in assists-per-set with an average of 6.58. Smith was also named to the Oakland Golden Grizzly Invitational All-Tournament Team.

• Other returnees on the 2016 roster include Josie Winner (R-Jr/MH), Abby Knight (So/MH), Anne Hughes (So/L), and Maria Brown (Jr/OH). 

NEW TO THE PROGRAM
• Seven members of the 2016 roster will be suiting up in a Panther uniform for the first time in their career. Coach Wolinski and coach Green added five freshmen, one transfer junior, and a redshirt-freshman to this season's team. 

• The new freshmen class includes Morgan Matusik (OH), Lindsey Powers (DS/L), Alissa Danosky (DS), Maggie Runge (MH), and Katie Sommer (RS/OH). 

• Hayley Richardson (Jr/RS) joined the Eastern Illinois volleyball team after having spent the past two seasons playing for Jefferson College.

• Gina Furlin (R-Fr/S) will return to the Panthers after redshirting the 2015 season due to injury.

QUOTING COACH WOLINSKI
Coach Wolinski on the start of the 2016 season -- "Preseason as a whole has been very good for our group. We have grit and grinded through preseason and we have options in a lot of positions.  The returners and the newbies have done a good job of molding themselves into a team on and off the court.  We will continue to work on that process as we get ourselves ready for the start of OVC through our preseason tournaments and mid week matches.  As our team mantra states…it is time to 'Rise Up.'"
 
Coach's thoughts on the upcoming Country Inn & Suites Green Bay Invitational this weekend -- "The start of the season is finally here and we are all excited to hit the road for our first road trip for the season.  It is an exciting time for all of us as we embark on the new season especially because we are able to play someone else on the other side of the net than ourselves.  I think this will be a solid opening tournament to see where we are against some solid teams from various conferences around the country."  

SCOUTING THE GREEN BAY INVITE
• This weekend at the Country Inn & Suites Green Bay Invitational, the Panthers will face some fairly unfamiliar foes as EIU has only faced this weekend's competition in a total of 12 contests. The Panthers will have their first ever match up against Stephen F. Austin in school history. EIU posts a 8-2 record against Green Bay, but have not faced the host school since 1997. Eastern Illinois holds a perfect 2-0 record against South Dakota State and will look to keep their unblemished record intact in their final game of the tournament. 

• Day one opponent Stephen F. Austin finished the 2015 season with a record of 20-14 and 11-5 in the Southland Conference. SFA made their conference tournament as the No. 3 seed, but had an early exit as they lost in the first round. Justice Walker is the player to watch for SFA as she led the team in kills last season as a junior with 344.
• EIU's second match of the Green Bay Invite will have the Panthers facing the host Green Bay squad in Friday's nightcap. Green Bay finished the 2015 season at 17-13 and an even 8-8 record in the Horizion League. Green Bay will return their top two attackers in Lydia DeWeese and Megan Powers as the pair had over 270 kills each last season.

• In EIU's weekend finale, the Panthers will take on South Dakota State which will mark the third time the two teams have squared off in program history. The Jackrabbits finished the 2015 season at 5-27 overall. SDSU will look for more success this season as they have six seniors on their 2016 roster and bring back two of their top attackers from a season ago. Mikala Hora and Ashley Beaner will once again be the go-to players for SDSU on the offensive side of the net.

UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS
• Following this weekend's Country Inn & Suites Green Bay Invitational, the Panthers welcome Butler for their 2016 home opener in Lantz Arena. The single contest with Butler is set for Aug. 30 at 6 p.m.