The Eastern volleyball squad finished up their season over the weekend with two home matches and a rescheduled match against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday in Evansville, Ind.

The squad started off the weekend right with a five set victory (25-19, 21-25, 26-24, 14-25, 15-13) against their conference rivals Southeast Missouri.

The Panthers had not won a match against the Redhawks since their 2005 season and the win put Eastern at 11-18 overall. Leading the Panthers on offense was junior outside hitters Kelsey Orr and Alex Zwettler, who each put up double-double performances in the match.

Orr’s double-double came behind a match high 25 kills and 11 digs. Zwettler, on the other hand, notched 15 kills with 17 digs.

The duo of Orr and Zwettler were a force all night, and in a match that consisted of numerous ties and lead changes, each kill was needed. In fact, the final kill of the match was by Zwettler, which sealed the win for the Panthers in the fifth set.

Saturday was senior night for Eastern as three seniors, assistant coach Shaina Boylan, setter Lauren Schutte, and outside hitter Jessica Wheeler, were honored in a pre-game ceremony with their parents.

“It’s sad to see Jessica, Schutte, and Shain go, but we will bring a lot of new people in to help Eastern volleyball next year,” said junior middle blocker Jorie Dieter.

The Panthers dropped the first two sets to SIU-Edwardsville by scores of 25-15 and 25-21. The Panthers had some success in the third set as they took the set 25-16 behind some key kills by junior outside hitters Erin Hake and Orr.

Both Hake and Orr had 10 kills by the end of the night.

Playing in her final game at Lantz Arena of her career, Wheeler recorded 11 digs. This was not enough for the Panthers, however, as the Cougars pummeled the Eastern defense in the fourth set with kill after kill and eventually took the match (25-15, 25-21, 16-25, 25-22) three sets to one.

Sunday’s season finale in Evansville brought another loss for Eastern as the Panthers fell to Eastern Kentucky in a rough five set (23-25, 13-25, 26-24, 25-22, 8-15) match. The Panthers game on Sunday, which was rescheduled due to the passing of assistant women’s basketball coach Jackie Moore, was still considered a home game for Eastern even though it was played at Evansville, Indiana.

“Our seniors helped us build a foundation for our team,” said Zwettler. “They will be missed.”

Zwettler led the team Sunday with 25 kills.

With their six game home stand and the 2009 season over, the Panthers end the year with an 11-20 overall, and a 4-13 record in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Kevin Maras can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmaras@eiu.edu.

Senior outside hitter Jessica Wheeler prepares for the ball during Saturdays senior night game against SIU-Edwardsville. The Panthers lost against the Cougars 1 set to 3. (Chelsea Grady/The Daily Eastern News)

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