PORTLAND -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team concludes its four-match Big Sky Conference road trip this week, as they travel to the Rose City and the City of Trees this weekend. The Eagles continues its excursion on Thursday, Oct. 20, when they take on Portland State, then they'll travel south to face Sacramento State on Saturday, Oct. 22. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start time.
Eastern comes into this week's set of matches on a roll, as the team has won three of its last four matches. EWU is currently in third place in the Big Sky North Division at 5-3, just two games behind first place North Dakota. Overall, Eastern is just of three teams in the Division with double-digit wins, as they are 10-7 overall on the year.
Both Portland State and Sacramento State come out of the Big Sky South Division. The Vikings are currently in fifth place in the six-team division at 3-5 in the conference, but PSU has won double-digit contests this season, as they are 11-9 overall. The Hornets are in a tie for second in the South, as both them and Idaho State are 5-3 in league play. SSU is also an even 11-11 overall this season.
Last Time Out
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Larsen posted a season-best 22 kills and hit an impressive .354 to help the Eagles to a 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-7) victory at Idaho last Saturday, Oct. 15. The victory marked the first time in 11 years that the Eagles collected a victory in Moscow, Idaho, as the last time EWU beat the Vandals on their home court came on Oct. 11, 2005.
All-Time Series
Portland State: Eastern holds a slim 27-25 advantage in the all-time series against the Vikings. Portland State has won seven-straight matches in the Rose City against the Eagles, as EWU's last victory in Portland came on Nov. 15, 2008.
Sacramento State: It's been a bit of a one-sided series for Sacramento State against the Eagles, as they hold a 31-17 lead in a series that dates back to 1995. Eastern has won two-straight matches in the series, and picked up a five-set victory in the last match played in Sacramento.
RPI
The Eagles enter this week of play with an RPI ranking of 178 out of 334 NCAA Division I volleyball team. That mark is the eighth-best RPI ranking in the Big Sky, as Northern Arizona leads the conference with a 106 RPI.
Conference Rankings
The Eagles defense has been elite this season, and it reflects in the conference rankings, as they are the second-best team in opponent hitting percentage at .154. EWU is just one point off the conference lead of .153 held by Northern Arizona.
Senior Sophie Miller ranks seventh in the Big Sky in service aces per set at 0.29, while she is 10th in assists-per-set at 8.24. Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi ranks ninth in the league in digs-per-set at 4.04.
Breaking Out
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Larsen has come into her own since being inserted into the starting lineup two weeks ago. Since Oct. 6, the night of her first start, the Colfax, Washington native has had at least nine kills in every match and has hit above .350 in three of her four starts. Over the last four matches, Larsen has averaged 3.40 kills-per-set and is hitting .327 over the stretch.
Larsen's culmination came this past Saturday, as she collected a career-best 22 kills and hit .354 to help Eastern pick up its first win at Idaho since Oct. 11, 2005.
Double-Double Machine
One can simply not watch an Eastern Washington match and not notice senior setter Sophie Miller. The Federal Way, Washington native has displayed an all-out effort on both sides of the ball, as she has posted five double-doubles over her last six matches. The setter has handed out double-digit assists in every match this season, while she has recently picked up her defensive efforts of late, by posting double-figures in digs in five of her last six matches.
Coming Up Big on Defense
Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna displayed her versatility last week, as the Hawaiian native posted double-digit digs in two matches at Idaho State and Idaho. Despite having her four-match double-double streak come to an end against the Bengals and Vandals, Ahuna was still able to extend her double-digit dig streak to a season-best six matches with 10 digs against ISU followed by 15 digs against the Vandals.
Knowing Your Opponent – Portland State
The Vikings snapped a four-match losing streak last Saturday, Oct. 15, with a four-set victory at Southern Utah. Portland State has won just three matches since starting the year 8-3, as they are now 11-9 on the year with an RPI of 138.
Portland State ranks sixth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage, as they are hitting .207 on the year. They are second in kills-per-set in the conference with a 13.68 average. Senior Pati Anae leads the Big Sky in kills with 347, and her 4.45 kills-per-set average is tops in the league. PSU is also the top assist team in the conference, as they are handing out 12.83 assists-per-set.
The Vikings as struggled defensively, as they are allowing teams to hit .227 against them, a mark that is the 10th-lowest in the Big Sky. They rank eighth in the league in digs-per-set (14.90), while junior Tasha Bojanic is fourth in the conference in digs at 4.58 per set.
Knowing Your Opponent – Sacramento State
SSU has dropped three of its last four matches to fall to 5-3 in Big Sky play after conference play at 4-0. Sacramento State is an even 11-11 overall this season and holds an RPI of 155.
The Hornets are fifth in the conference in hitting percentage with a .207 clip. Sacramento State is the top kill team in the Big Sky, as they are averaging 13.80 kills-per-set. SSU is just one of two teams in the conference to rank inside the Top 10 in kills-per-set, as junior Shannon Boyle ranks fourth with a 3.57 average, while senior Madeline Cannon is 10th with her 2.99 kills-per-set clip.
Defensively, teams are hitting .192 against the Hornets. They are second in the Big Sky in digs-per-set at 16.88, while senior Lexie Skalbeck leads the conference in that category with her 4.86 per-set average.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
