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Eastern Illinois (7-3) at Murray State (6-4)
Friday, Sept. 25
6 p.m. at Murray, Ky.
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Eastern Illinois vs Murray State
Saturday, Sept. 26
2 p.m. at Murray, Ky.
Live Stats | ESPN+

ON-TAP:  The Panthers of Eastern Illinois will start Ohio Valley Conference play against the Racers of Murray State this weekend at Racer Arena in Murray, Ky. This marks the first time since the 2004 season that the Panthers have four straight away conference games.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Eastern Illinois is currently trailing in the all-time series against Murray State, 25-32. They last played each other during the conference-only schedule last season due to COVID-19. EIU defeated Murray State 3-1 at Racer Arena. Last year's win broke a 12 match losing streak against the Racers.

OVC UPDATE: The OVC kicked off conference play with Belmont defeating Tennessee State 3-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Belmont moves into first place after winning their first match against an OVC opponent. EIU currently ranks fourth in the conference standings at 7-3 with Murray State ranking fifth with a 6-4 record.

OVC INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: EIU has multiple players that lead a statistical category in the OVC. Emily Wilcox leads the league in hitting percentage with a .346. She currently has 74 kills on 156 attempts this season. Lorraine Perez leads the OVC in service aces per set with a 0.50. She has connected on 11 of her 22 services. Other Panthers include Summerlyn Smith (sixth in assists), Danielle Allen (sixth in kills, eighth in points), and Christina Martinez-Mundo (fourth in digs).

TRAVELING PANTHERS: Volleyball will be traveling a lot to start conference play this season with four of their matches being away. The Panthers do not return home to Lantz Arena til Tuesday, Oct. 5 when they play SIUE. The last time EIU had their first four conference matches away they finished 15-1 in conference and won the OVC regular season.

NEXT UP: EIU will face-off against the Skyhawks of UT Martin following their away series against Murray State. They will travel to Martin, Tenn. Friday, Oct. 1 and play at 6 p.m. Their second matchup against the Skyhawks will be played on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 4 p.m.
 
HEAD COACH: Sara Thomas enters her second season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois and marks her first full season at the helm. Thomas is assisted by Manolo Concepcion and Ana Paula Zandona. The Panthers look to build off their 2-14 record last season in a condensed COVID-19 season.