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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois volleyball is set to round out the 2009 season, hosting Southeast Missouri and SIU-Edwardsville this weekend on Nov. 13 and 14, respectively.  First serve is scheduled for 7 pm for both matches, with Saturday designated senior recognition night.

Eastern enters the weekend at 10-18 overall and 3-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while SEMO comes to town 13-16 overall and 8-9 in league play.  Future OVC foe SIUE, meanwhile, will enter Lantz Arena on Saturday at 1-27 on the year.

LATE SEASON MATCHES POSTPONED/CANCELLED
Following the untimely passing of EIU assistant women's basketball coach Jackie Moore last week, all Panther weekend action was cancelled on Nov. 6 and 7, including two scheduled league home matches with Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. There's still a slight possibility that one of those two matchups may still be rescheduled. 

But until that is determined, this weekend the Panthers host Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri on Friday night, followed by a Saturday evening match to instate rival, and upcoming league member, SIU-Edwardsville.

For the remainder of the season, the Panthers will honor the memory of coach Moore by sporting an 'In Memory ... J.M. 1981-2009 ... “Go Hard”' patch on the team's uniform.

PANTHERS TO MISS OVC TOURNEY AGAIN
Including this season, the Panthers have now failed to make the end-of-season six-squad league tourney the last four years, with their last appearance coming back in 2005. In fact, Eastern actually hosted the event that determines who represents the OVC in NCAA play in 2005, with SEMO ending the Panther season in a five-set heartbreaker in first round play. 

Since joining the OVC in 1996, the Panthers own a 9-7 all-time OVC tournament record. That includes winning the title in 2001 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. EIU has also finished as tourney runner-ups three times, including the first season a league member in 1996, and also in 1997 and 2004. 

However, since winning the championship in 2001, Eastern has just two OVC tourney berths over the course of the last eight tournaments.

COACH SEGAL SAYS
“It will be nice to finish on a good note and play well this weekend… if we play well enough and get a couple wins we can possibly end the season with confidence and get ready for spring… we just need to play well and be happy with the way we are playing… use it as springboard for next season… it's not like we haven't been competitive all year, we just have come out on the short end of the win column... the girls are excited to play at home again which will also be nice… this spring the squad is going to learn real work ethic… as we'll have time to break down their arm swings, movement, etc., plus also get them into great shape… it will also be the first opportunity to get them to become mentally tougher and physically stronger… we will have a lot of people back… so practice will be good in the spring since we'll have enough players for two teams and real-game scenarios.”

ANOTHER LOOK AT SEMO
Playing the final regular-season match, the Redhawks come to Charleston riding a nine-match streak over the Panthers, going all the way back to 2005.  SEMO sports a 13-16 overall record and 8-9 league mark and are currently in sixth place in conference play.  Earlier in the season, the Panthers dropped a three-set match in Cape Girardeau, as SEMO ran away with the 25-18, 25-18, 25-19 win. 

Leading the squad is junior middle blocker Emily Hughes, with 331 kills off a .270 attack. She also has the second best block total with 72. Senior outside hitter Karleigh DeLong is a close second for kills with 312, while nailing 19 aces and earning 261 digs. 

In the series between the Panthers and Redhawks, SEMO has owned EIU as of late, leading 24-11, all-time. The last Panther win came back in the first meeting in 2005 when Eastern pulled out a five-set win at home.

RE-SCOUTING SIU-EDWARDSVILLE
The Cougars of SIU-Edwardsville, who are in the process of moving to the NCAA Division I level, will not officially compete as an OVC member until the 2011 season, yet in the meantime are already on nearly every league team's docket. EIU took a four-set win over SIUE on Oct. 17 in Edwardsville, where the two instate foes met for only the second time ever. The win helped the Panthers pull to an even 1-1 in the all-time series as the Cougars won the lone road meeting in 2008 in a three-set affair. 

Leading the Cougars is junior outside hitter Sydney Winslow, off 275 kills and a .208 attack. She also owns a tough serve, having notched 22 aces. Fellow junior Karie Downing has 216 put-aways and actually owns the top dig mark behind 288 ups. 

PANTHERS TO HONOR THREE SENIORS PRIOR TO SIUE MATCH
Before the first serve at Saturday's match with SIU-Edwardsville, the Panthers will honor the three Eastern seniors -- Shaina Boylan, Lauren Schutte and Jessica Wheeler. The threesome will also be accompanied by their parents in the annual pre-match ceremony.

.... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID