Eliza Zwettler was tired of playing for a new coach.

The junior had played for four coaches in two years at Troy University in Alabama.

It was not what she signed up for.

“There wasn’t any consistency and we weren’t having very good seasons and success as it was,” she said.

So she transferred to Eastern at the urging of Panthers’ assistant coach Cheryl Astrauskas.

Zwettler is second on the team in kills per game as Eastern heads into a match against University of Illinois-Chicago tonight at Lantz Arena at 7 p.m.

The Panthers are coming off a weekend where head coach Lori Bennett said they improved in each successive match against Northwestern, Arizona and Pittsburgh.

Astrauskas was an assistant coach at Troy during Zwettler’s freshman year and joined Bennett on the Panthers at the start of last season.

She was the main reason Zwettler transferred to Eastern, along with Zwettler’s desire to be closer to her family.

“I wanted to be closer to home and into a better program,” she said. “It just worked out that I was able to come here.”

Zwettler said she has been at a slight disadvantage as an outside hitter since schools came out to recruit players at her club team.

“I’ve always been told that I was short and that I couldn’t compete at (Division I),” she said. “At club tournaments, when coaches look at the roster, they immediately look at height. When they see a 5-6 or 5-7 outside hitter, it doesn’t matter how high you jump or what you touch.

“Most often you’re just wiped out (of consideration).”

Zwettler’s family has always been athletic.

Eliza and her two sisters, Callie and Alex, all played volleyball, softball and basketball in high school.

Their parents, Chris and Bernie Zwettler, are both in the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s athletic hall of fame and Chris has been the athletic director at Edgewood High School for 27 years.

“It’s what we do when we get together,” Chris said. He said because of her height, it is sometimes “extra special” when she gets a kill against bigger girls.

He said that having all their children compete in sports was special. Especially when Callie and Eliza went to the state championship game when Eliza was a freshman and Callie was a senior.

“As parents, it’s a dream come true,” Eliza’s father said. “At the time, we didn’t make a big deal about it. But you look back and it’s a pretty big deal.”

Her fundamentals and hitting power are two parts of her game that Bennett has been impressed with.

“She’s definitely an impact player,” she said. “She is very strong and explosive.”

Eliza’s father said while she always wants the team do well, sometimes she likes to make an impact in another way.

“She also likes to drill people when she can.”

Eliza Zwettler, a junior outside hitter, spikes the ball during practice Monday afternoon in Lantz Arena. Zwettler, a transfer from Troy University, leads the Panthers in kills this season with 116. Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News

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