Match Notes | Online Media Guide

Cheney, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's volleyball team opens the second half of Big Sky Conference play this week with a pair of home matches against South Division foes Idaho State and Weber State.

Eastern (8-13, 4-4 BSC) welcomes Idaho State to Reese Court Thursday, Oct. 23, before squaring off with Weber State on Saturday, Oct. 25. Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m. PT.

Fans who bring a canned food item to Thursday's match will receive a special $2 admission price while Saturday's match will feature the opportunity for those aged 10 and under to trick or treat before Halloween next Friday.

EWU is coming off of a pair of home victories over Montana State and Montana last weekend, something that had not happened since 2011. The Eagles topped both the Bobcats and Grizzlies in three sets in the same weekend for the first time since 2006 and only the fifth time in school history.

Eastern hit a then-season-high .341 against MSU last Thursday, Oct. 16, before swinging at a .378 clip versus Montana on Friday, Oct. 17.

EWU limited Montana State to just nine points in the first set, marking the first time since 2009 that Eastern has held an opponent to single-digit points in a frame. The Eagles also tied their season high with 13 blocks versus the Bobcats as four players finished with at least four blocks.

Junior Allie Schumacher was nearly error-free this past weekend, finishing with just two attacking miscues in EWU's two matches combined. She hit .471 against Montana State, recording eight kills on 17 error-free attacks. She came back the next night and swung at a .533 clip versus the Grizzlies, notching 10 kills on 15 attacks while committing just two errors.

Senior Talia Fermantez recorded nine blocks this past weekend, moving her into seventh all-time on the total blocks list with 327 career stops. She also moved up to sixth all-time in assisted blocks with 280.

Fellow senior Kelsey Julian played in her 100th career match last Friday against Montana.

Idaho State (13-8, 7-1 BSC) currently sports the best record in the conference through the first half of the league slate. The Bengals are limiting opponents to a .186 hitting percentage on average, a mark that has dropped to just .136 in Big sky matches. Tressa Lyman ranks second in the conference in kills per set with an average of 3.47 while Makenzie Filer's blocks per set average of 1.26 ranks third in the league.

Weber State (6-16, 2-6 BSC) enters the week having lost three of its last five matches, including two in three sets. The Wildcats boast a strong defense at the net, ranking fourth in the conference with an average of 2.36 blocks per set, but WSU's backline ranks last in the league with an average of 11.41 digs per set. Audrey Biggs leads the Big Sky in kills per set with an average of 4.22, shouldering much of the offensive load for Weber State.