Friday night was the end of the road for the Eastern volleyball team, as it fell 3-1 to the University of Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament. But that didn’t stop them from enjoying a once in a lifetime achievement.

There are six seniors on the team’s roster, and even though the Panthers lost, all six went out the way they had hoped to at the beginning of the season.

Eastern finished with a 21-9 record and were champions of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to earn the school its first ever berth to the NCAA tournament.

Seniors Rebecca Ooyen, Marcia Hahn, Kim DeMage, Leslie Przekwas, Amy Heimann and Carrie Stevens, the group that is highlighted on the cover of the volleyball media guide, had to overcome a Wildcat team that is ranked fifth in the nation.

“It was funny because right before we were getting ready to go, Carrie was like, ‘I don’t care if we lose, this is cool as hell’ …. and it was, it was an awesome experience,” Hahn said.

The seniors said they felt they were able to finish off their career on a high note even though their season ended with a loss. Despite the pressure of facing a bigger, faster Wildcat squad, the seniors approached the match as they would any other contest.

“We prepared for them just like any other team, Stevens said. “They were not that intimidating. We focused on defense because they are a big team … but we had a normal focus.”

Making it to the NCAA tournament is a dream for every collegiate athlete, and although winning would be great, the seniors saw advancing to the tournament as a great accomplishment in itself. Przekwas echoed how humble and thankful the team was just to be able to be a part of this experience.

“We had nothing to lose … it’s a wonderful way to go out … it’s a once in a lifetime thing – it’s as good as a win,” Przekwas said.

Heimann added: “It was weird because of all the attention we got.”

Head coach Brenda Winkeler had instilled the importance of an NCAA tournament berth from Day 1.

“This was their ultimate goal … we had no regrets,” she said.