29-2; Coach Wade Benson
Eastern closed the season by setting a new school and Big Sky Conference record for winning percentage -- .935. However, the 29-2 Eagles astonishingly did not receive one of 33 at-large berths handed out to non-automatic qualifiers for the 64-team NCAA Championship. Coach Wade Benson's team won its first 20 matches -- including 17 on the road. With the fifth-best winning percentage in NCAA Division I, the Eagles were ranked as high as 15th nationally -- the highest ranking ever for a team in the Big Sky Conference. Sacramento State was the only team to defeat the Eagles in 2002, including the championship match of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Eastern rolled to the Big Sky regular season title with a 13-1 record, with the lone loss at Sacramento State, snapping Eastern’s 17-match road winning streak that ranked 13th all-time in NCAA history at the time. Besides their record-setting 29-2 record, the Eagles were also 88-19 in sets played in 2002 for a .822 winning percentage. Sac State snapped EWU's 20-match winning streak on Oct. 19, and ended a nine-match streak for the Eagles on Nov. 23. Led by seniors Janelle Ruen and Monica Lynch, the Eagles set school and Big Sky records for hitting percentage with a mark of .282. Ruen was the MVP in the Big Sky Conference and joined Lynch and setter Jessie Wright on the All-Big Sky first team, with Courtney Bush, Megan Kitterman and Keva Sonderen receiving honorable mention. Ruen earned honorable mention AVCA All-Region VII honors and was a first team pick on the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII squad. Bush earned third team Academic All-District VIII honors and a total of 12 Eagles were on the Big Sky All-Academic team.
Front Row (left to right): Courtney Bush, Jessie Wright, Brittney Page, Janelle Ruen, Monica Lynch, Lacey Bell, Keva Sonderen, Lindsay Page. Back Row: Andrea Verdoljak, Emily Hall, Kristy Chester, Fehi Tuivai, Megan Kitterman, Casey Evans, Sara Reilly, Lizzy Mellor.
