Cheney, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's volleyball team dropped a three-set contest to Big Sky Conference-leading Idaho State Thursday, Oct. 23, at Reese Court.

Won-Loss Records
EWU sees its two-match winning streak snapped with the loss, falling to 4-5 in conference play and 8-14 overall. Idaho State improves to 14-8 and 8-1 in league matches with the win. Set scores for the match were: 25-19, 25-20, 25-22.

Turning Point
The first set was back and forth throughout, with neither team able to gain much separation. Senior Melissa Waelter took advantage of an over pass from the Bengals, crushing the ball to bring Eastern to within one, 19-18, late in the frame. The Eagles would commit an error on their next attacking opportunity, gifting the visitors a lead it would extend with a kill from Whitney Harrington.

A second kill gave ISU a three-point advantage before a pair of service aces saw the Bengals take a 24-18 edge. A kill from senior Talia Fermantez momentarily stemmed the tide, but Idaho State would not be denied, as Harrington put away the set-winning kill.

ISU maintained its momentum into the second set, opening up a double-digit advantage before a late Eastern rally cut the score to four, 24-20. The Bengals used a kill from Bailey Bars to win the frame and take a 2-0 lead into the break.

The Eagles came out of the break determined to make things tough on the visitors as a block from Fermantez and senior Kelsey Julain spotted EWU a 10-9 lead. Idaho State would not be denied, however, going up five, 18-13, on another kill from Bars before fending off another late charge from Eastern to secure the match victory.

Top Performers
Fermantez led EWU with 11 kills, hitting .474 on the night (11-2-19) to go along with a pair of blocks.

Junior Kellen Barfield chipped in 10 kills on 20 error-free swings, matching Fermantez with two blocks.

Waelter matched her career high with 15 digs, adding six kills.

Miller finished with 17 assists, nearly missing out on a double-double with nine digs.

Junior Ryann Ensrud added eight digs.

Key Statistics
Eastern swung at a .222 clip for the match compared to Idaho State's .265 hitting percentage. The Bengals committed two more errors than EWU, but finished with 47 kills to the Eagles' 39.

ISU was deadly from the service line, registering nine service aces. Eastern finished with just two service aces on the night.

Quoting Coach King
"Give credit to Idaho State. They served us very well, better than any team we've seen this year in my opinion. I thought we fought well. I was pleased that we never backed down. We just made some critical errors at critical times. I'm really happy with where we're at and pleased that we fought. We just need to clean up our serve-receive a little bit."

Match Notes
Eastern falls to 40-28 all-time versus Idaho State with the loss, and 22-11 all-time against the Bengals at Reese Court.

Fermantez led the Eagles in kills for just the third time this season. She now has seven double-figure kill outings this year.

Waelter's 15 digs match her career-high dig output. She has now recorded 15 digs in three career matches and has tallied double-figure digs in six matches this season.

Video Highlights

Up Next
The Eagles are back home this Saturday, Oct. 25, when Weber State visits Reese Court for a Big Sky counter. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.