Controversy and tension filled the Dunn Center in Tennessee in a match between the Panthers and Austin Peay on Friday.

The Panthers found themselves playing in another five-game match, but they were in a tight spot.

The Panthers were winning the fifth game 15-14 when an attack error was called on senior outside hitter Eliza Zwettler.

Zwettler said there was no error on the play when she hit the ball off the block, but the referees made the call that it was an error on Zwettler’s behalf.

“The refs blew some huge calls,” Zwettler said. “All the calls were against us for points. It was really frustrating.”

But Zwettler put the game out of reach when she nailed down two kills and won the match for the Panthers. They won 17-15 to defeat the Lady Governors, winning 3-2 (30-26, 25-30, 30-20, 17-15).

Some of the Panthers also were not happy with the crowd of 194 in Clarksville, Tenn.

“They were rude,” said Alex Zwettler, freshman outside hitter. “I know it was their home crowd and all, but we were able to use them to pump us up. We used their energy to shove it back in their faces.”

Eliza shared her sister’s displeasure with the crowd, especially when one fan continually yelled at Eastern head coach Lori Bennett.

“In game four, there was a call made, and coach got up and was talking to us, and the guy kept was yelling to the ref if he was going to let her argue every call of the match,” Eliza said. “It was ridiculous. I think the guy wanted to be the ref.”

With the win, the Panthers (2-7, 9-9 Ohio Valley Conference) snapped a two-match losing streak and are now 4-4 in five-game situations.

Sophomore libero Shaina Boylan said Bennett told the team she was proud of the players’ efforts.

“She said she was pleased that we were able to pull out the fifth game,” Boylan said. “She said we have to work on a few things, but she was, overall, pleased.”

The Panthers defense was a big factor in the win.

Eastern had 12 blocks, compared to Austin Peay’s five.

Sophomore middle blocker Amy Sesol had seven blocks in the match. Boylan had 27 digs for the match.

Boylan said the defense performed well.

“We did really well on defense,” she said. “We practiced pretty hard this week. We outdug them, and we got a much needed win.”

The Panthers outdug the Governors 101-92.

The Panthers offense had a strong performance as well.

Five Panthers finished the match with double-digit kill numbers.

Eliza had 21 kills, Alex, 7; junior middle hitter Lauren Sopcic, 14; freshman outside hitter Kelsey Orr, 11; and sophomore outside hitter Jessica Wheeler, 10. Eliza and Orr had double-double performances with 19 and 14 digs, respectively.

Senior setter Maren Crabtree had 70 assists for the match. Eliza is currently ranked fourth in the OVC kills category with 301.

The Governors’ (2-6, 7-13) senior outside hitter Dodi Szymska led her team with 24 kills and 16 digs.

Szymska is ranked first in kills in the OVC with 333. Freshman middle blocker Jessica Mollman had 16 kills, and sophomore outside hitter Kirstin Distler had 12 kills and 18 digs. Freshman setter Sarah Alisaleh had 59 assists for the match.

The Panthers play Jacksonville State at 7 p.m. Friday in Jacksonville, Ala.