CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team had its three-match home winning streak snapped on Friday (Oct. 28), as they fell to Idaho 3-1 (21-25, 16-25, 26-24, 00-25) in Big Sky Conference action.
The Eagles were flying high at home coming into Friday's match, had they had picked up three-straight wins over Northern Arizona (Oct. 6), Southern Utah (Oct. 8) and Weber State (Oct. 27). However, that streak would come to an end against an Idaho team that picked up its second-straight win in as many nights.
Eastern Washington endured several self-inflected wounds on the night, as they committed 13 service errors and eight blocking errors. That, accompanied with a Vandal attack that hit .211 on the night, brought a halt to the recent string of success for the Eagles at Reese Court.
Sophomore Jessica Gilbert enjoyed her second-straight double-digit kill match, as the Modesto, California native landed a team-best 14 kills, while adding a team-high .321 hitting percentage. Junior Chloe Weber joined Gilbert in the double-digit category, as she posted 10 kills.
Idaho was able to outperform the stout defensive effort of Eastern Washington, as the team from Moscow out-dug the Eagles, 84-77, to limit EWU to a .140 hitting percentage. Sophomores Ka'iulani Ahuna and Regan Harr each led the team with 15 digs each.
The setter duo of Harr and senior Sophie Miller each posted a double-double on the night, as the sophomore added 19 assists to go along with her 15 digs, while Miller passed out a team-best 27-helpers and picked up 12 digs along the way.
"This game boils down to serve and pass and we did not do either particularly well tonight," said head coach Michael King. "You're not going to win a lot of games when you miss 13 serves, then add in eight net violations, which is very unusual for us. Those were big factors in tonight's outcome. Once again, it was great to have the band at our match to add atmosphere, and I want to again thank the fans for coming out to tonight's match."
Win-Loss Records: The Eagles fall to 11-10 overall on the year and drop to just one game over .500 in Big Sky play, as they are now 6-5 after 11 league contest. For Idaho, they improve to 9-15 overall and improve to 3-8 in conference games.
What It Means: Tonight's loss snaps a three-match winning streak at Reese Court for Eastern Washington. The Eagles had previous defeated a trio of Big Sky South Division schools (Northern Arizona, Southern Utah and Weber State), but they are still in search of their first Big Sky North Division home win of 2016, as Eastern is now 0-3 in matches against their Division rivals at Reese.
Key Stats: The difference in tonight's match was errors. Eastern committed 13 service errors and tact on eight blocking errors, while Idaho only committed five miscues from the service area and only two blocking errors.
Top Performances: Sophomore Jessica Gilbert enjoyed her second-straight double-digit kill night with a team-best 14 kills. She also hit a team-best .321.
Senior Sophie Miller picked her fourth double-double over her last five matches with 27 assists and 12 digs.
Sophomore Regan Harr earned her sixth double-double over the last seven matches with 19 assists and 15 digs.
What's Next: The Eagles hit the road for the final time in the 2016 regular season next week, as they travel to North Dakota and Northern Colorado. Eastern opens the trip with an Nov. 3 matchup against the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota. First serve is set for 5 p.m. PT.
For more information on the Eastern Washington University volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
