RICHMOND, Ky. – Ohio Valley Conference play begins this weekend for the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team. The Colonels (0-9) will travel to face Tennessee-Martin on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. On Saturday, EKU will play at Murray State at 3 p.m. ET.

The combined record of Eastern Kentucky’s nine opponents this season is 60-32, for a .652 winning percentage. Four of the nine have not lost more than two matches. EKU’s three most recent opponents at the Hampton Inn Invitational have combined for a 24-8 record in 2009.

Newcomer Lauren Snyder leads the Colonels with 76 kills (2.71 per set). Senior Lindsey Loescher is close behind with 72 kills (2.57 per set) and has a team best five service aces.

Sophomore Hannah Groudle leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a .356 hitting percentage. She has 44 kills and only eight errors. In addition, she leads the team with 12 blocks. In three matches at last weekend’s Hampton Inn Invitational, Groudle totaled 25 kills, a .500 attack percentage and five blocks.

#Abby O’Connor# leads the team and ranks second in the conference with an average of 4.71 digs per set.

Tennessee-Martin is 5-4 on the season, but has dropped three straight heading into the weekend. The Skyhawks beat Indiana 3-2 and then downed Illinois-Chicago 3-1 before being beaten in straight sets by Kentucky, Arkansas State and Evansville.

Lauren Montague leads UTM with 82 kills for an average of 2.73 per set. Brittany Wilburn is second on the squad with 78 kills (2.60 per set) and leads the Skyhawks with 29 blocks. Ashley Doherty averages 2.5 kills per set and has the second best hitting percentage in the OVC at .331.

Kasey Elswick’s 4.26 digs per set leads the team.

Murray State enters Friday’s match with an 0-9 record as well. Both teams will be looking to scratch the win column for the first time this weekend. Five Racers average 1.70 kills per set or more. Ashley Nenninger leads the team with 73 kills and an average of 2.21 kills per set. Becca Lamb averages 1.91 kills per set. Sara Hayden is fourth on the squad with an average of 1.79 kills per set and leads the team with 25 blocks.

Kayleah Sauer leads MSU with an average of 3.88 digs per set.

The Racers and Colonels share one common opponent this season. Indiana beat Murray State 3-1 on Sept. 5. The Hoosiers dealt EKU a 3-0 loss on Sept. 12.