Eliza Zwettler made sure her last match in Panther blue-and-white would be memorable.

The senior outside hitter from Madison, Wis., made the last play to ensure victory for Eastern’s win against Austin Peay 3-1 (30-18, 24-30, 30-20, 32-30) Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.

Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Wheeler made the go-ahead kill to bring the score to 31-30, when Eliza jumped up and put down the match-winning kill in the fourth game, bringing it to 32-30.

Eliza dropped to her knees as her teammates mobbed around her in celebration.

Eliza said playing in the last match of her collegiate career was emotionally tough.

She said it took awhile to get into the rhythm of the match, but was happy how it ended.

“It felt really good to go out that way,” Eliza said.

Eliza had a personal-best with 28 kills in the match and notched her 32nd double-double of her Eastern career.

Teammate senior setter Maren Crabtree said she was happy to win for her last match and was excited to see Eliza make the last kill.

“I’m glad we went out on a win,” Crabtree said. “And it was awesome that (Eliza) was able to make the last play.”

Crabtree had 20 digs, three service aces and two assists. With Saturday’s stats, Crabtree moved into ninth place for EIU’s top-10 dig list. Crabtree finished her career with 4,637 assists, which places her second in the all-time assists list.

Crabtree and Eliza were honored before the match on Senior Day. Both had special introductions and were awarded flowers.

The last match also marked a special day for freshman outside hitter Alex Zwettler, who broke a new record during the match. Alex set a new single-season freshman kill record and had 355 kills for the season, which broke Eastern grad’s Erica Gerth’s 2001 mark of 349 kills. Zwettler finished the match with 20 kills.

The Panthers (12-17, 5-15 Ohio Valley Conference) finished their 2007 season. Austin Peay fell to 8-25, 4-16 OVC.

Austin Peay’s senior setter Leanne Kreps, a former player for Eastern, also finished her career at Lantz Arena.

Kreps said it was an odd experience.

“It was ironic,” Kreps said. “I started my career here and I finished it here, too.”

Kreps had nine kills, one dig and two assisted blocks for the match.

Governors head coach Jenny Hazelwood said she was proud of her team despite its loss.

Hazelwood said she was impressed with the way her team performed after the first game.

“We’ve struggled with a lot of up and down play this season,” Hazelwood said. “But I’m proud with the way the girls were fighting back. We’ve got a lot to build the future on.”

Junior Lauren Sopcic led the Panthers with a .423 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Lauren Schutte had 61 assists with six kills and 10 digs.

Eliza Zwettler, senior outside hitter, blocks the ball against Leanne Kreps, Austin Peay senior setter, Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena. The panthers won 3-1. Karla Browning/The Daily Eastern News

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