CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team closes its season-long four match home stand this week, as the Eagles hosts Northern Arizona and Southern Utah as a part of Homecoming Week at Eastern. EWU will take on the defending Big Sky Conference Champion Lumberjacks on Thursday at 6 p.m., before challenging the Thunderbirds at Reese Court on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Eagles come into Homecoming Week looking to snap a two-match losing streak after dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions to Northern Colorado and North Dakota to open Big Sky Conference play last Thursday, Sept. 29, and Friday, Sept. 30. Despite dropping its last two contests, Eastern Washington still maintains third place in the Big Sky North Division at 2-2, while they are 7-6 overall on the year.

Fans can receive free entrance to Saturday's match against Southern Utah by showing their game ticket from Saturday's Eastern Washington Homecoming football game. Ticket for both matches can be purchased at the gate or in advance at GoEags.com/ticket.

Last Time Out
The Eastern Washington University volleyball team picked up a season-high 91 digs in a 3-1 (25-27, 22-25, 25-20, 21-25) loss to North Dakota in Big Sky Conference action on Friday, Sept. 30, night.

Friday's match was a defensive battle, as both teams hit below .125 for the night. Eastern posted a 91-85 edge in digs over the Fighting Hawks, led by redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi, who matched her career-best in the category with 22 digs.

All-Time Series

Northern Arizona: The Eagles lead the all-time series against the Lumberjacks, 35-28, in a series that dates back to 1986. However, NAU brings in a four-match winning streak in the series after sweeping EWU in each of the last two seasons. The last time Eastern Washington knocked off Northern Arizona in Cheney came back on Oct. 15, 2010.

Southern Utah: Eastern Washington brings in a 5-2 all-time record against Southern Utah in the brief series. The two teams split a pair of matches last season, with the road team taking each contest, while Eastern has won four of the last five matches in the series.

Facing The Best
The old adage goes: 'If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.' Well, the Eagles have certainly faced the best the Big Sky has to offer during the first three matches of this season-long four-match home stand. Eastern has already had a pair of matches against the preseason No. 2-ranked (Northern Colorado) and No. 3-ranked (North Dakota) teams and face the defending regular season and conference tournament champs, and preseason favorite, Northern Arizona this Thursday.

Dig It Out
Eastern put together its best defensive performance of the season last Friday, Sept. 30, against North Dakota, as they posted a season-best 91 digs against the Fighting Hawks. The total number of digs against UND ties for the 13th-most by an Eastern Washington team in a four-set match in program history.

The Eagles had a remarkable five players post double-digits last Friday, led by redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi, who matched her career-best mark with 22 digs.

Double Trouble
The duo of senior Sophie Miller and sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna each turned in back-to-back double-doubles last week. The setter Miller recorded her second and third double-double of the season with 23 assists and 11 digs against Northern Colorado last Thursday, Sept. 29, followed by a 31-assist, 16-dig outing the next night against North Dakota.

For Ahuna, the Hawaiian native added to her team-lead in the category as her double-doubles against Northern Colorado (14 kills, 10 digs) and North Dakota (20 digs, 10 kills) now gives her four on the year.

Among the Best
Senior setter Sophie Miller currently ranks eighth in the Big Sky in assists-per-game at 8.62. The Federal Way, Washington native has tallied a team-best 405 assists through 47 sets this season. Miller is also ninth in the conference in service aces per set at 0.30.

Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi is ninth in the Big Sky in digs-per-set with her 4.06 average. The libero has picked up double-digit digs in three of her last four matches.

Knowing Your Opponent – Northern Arizona
The outright defending Big Sky Champs is in the midst of a seven-match winning streak, which has pushed the Lumberjacks record to 12-3 overall and a 4-0 mark in league play. NAU is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Weber State at home last Saturday, Oct. 1.

Northern Arizona is the top offensive team in the Big Sky, as they are hitting .292 as a team, a full 68 points better than anyone else in the conference. Senior Jensen Barton is one of two NAU players inside the top five in hitting percentage throughout the Big Sky, as she is hitting a conference-best .399. Fellow senior Addy Lofstedt currently ranks fourth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage with a .331 clip, while senior Lauren Jacobsen leads the team in kills-per-set at 4.53, which is the second-best average in the league.

The Lumberjacks have been nearly as impressive on the defensive end of the court, as they are holding teams to a .150 hitting percentage. NAU is ranked third in the conference in blocks-per-set at 2.36, as freshman Abby Akin's 1.27 average is tops on the team.

Knowing Your Opponent – Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds come into this week of Big Sky action looking to snap a 10-match losing streak. SSU is currently 0-4 in Big Sky action, and have not won a match since a Sept. 3 sweep of North Texas at the Utah Valley Tournament. Overall on the year, Southern Utah is 2-14.

SSU is hitting .148 as a team through 14 matches, a mark that ranks 10th in the conference. Senior Chennin Benson is the team's top offensive threat, as her 2.92 kills-per-set average is 10th-best in the Big Sky. Freshman setter Alexis Averett also ranks inside the Big Sky's top 10 in assists-per-set with an 8.45 mark.

Defensively, teams are hitting .217 against the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah ranks inside the top five of the league in blocks-per-set, as its 2.29 team average is the fourth-highest in the Big Sky. Senior Ann Clappier (5th; 1.16) and junior MaCail Evans (10th; 1.02) both rank inside the conference's top 10 in blocks.

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