RICHMOND, Ky. - This weekend will mark the final two contests of the 1998 season for the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team. The Colonels are currently 3-21 overall under first-year head coach Lori Duncan, matching the number of wins from a year ago. Eastern is 3-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

EKU will travel to Tennessee Tech Friday to take on the Golden Eaglettes at 8:00 PM ET, before heading to Middle Tennessee for a 3:00 PM ET match on Saturday. This will be the second time Eastern has played each school after hosting them earlier in the season. The Colonels defeated Middle Tennessee before losing to Tennessee Tech in those earlier contests.

"My expectation is that we will do fine," said Duncan. "I expect to win the next two games and that will carry over into the spring and into next season."

Because of the new conference tournament structure, in which only the top six teams are eligible for the OVC tourney, Duncan and her squad will not make a post-season appearance.

Eastern will be coming off a week in which it only played in one contest, but it was a tough contest. Last Sunday, the Colonels traveled to Louisville to take on the Cardinals, who are currently ranked No. 24 in the nation. U of L defeated the Colonels in straight sets, 15-12, 15-4, 15-8.

"We didn't beat Louisville," continued Duncan. "That's a disappointment. I expect to win...we prepare to win and we expect to win. That has not happened as much as we would have liked this season. At Louisville, we played with enthusiasm. But, I said in the locker room after the match, 'remember, we did not win'. But, I told them, if we had played like that all season, we would be playing on November 20 and 21 in the OVC Tournament."
 

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