CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team got Homecoming 2016 started on the right foot, as the Eagles knocked off the defending Big Sky Conference champions, Northern Arizona, 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21) on Thursday, Oct. 6, night at Reese Court.
Eastern rode the momentum of junior Ashley Seiler and sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna throughout the contest, as each of them had a match-best 18 kills. Each player had a double-double against the Lumberjacks, as Ahuna rolled off her third-straight with 19 digs to go along with 18 kills, while Seiler matched Ahuna's kill total while picking up 17 digs to earn her second double-double in as many matches. Sophomore Taylor Larsen, who made her first start of the season, made the most of the opportunity, as she posted a career-best 11 kills and hit a match-high .375 (11-2-24) against NAU.
The Eagles posted their second-straight 90-dig match to limit the top offensive team in the Big Sky to just a .125 hitting percentage. EWU collected a season-best 96 digs in the win and had four players reach double-digits in the category, led by senior Sophie Miller, junior Megan LaFond and Ahuna, who each had 19 digs. Miller also handed out 35 assists to record her third-straight double-double.
Eastern Washington went toe-to-toe with the 2015 Big Sky champions in the first set, as the match was tied at 19-19 after 38 points. Eastern would roll off four the set's next five points to take a 23-20 lead, and had to hold off the Lumberjacks late to pick up a 25-23 win in set one.
Northern Arizona sent the match to the locker room in a tie, as they took set two, 25-21. NAU looked to have regained control of the match midway through the third set, as they held a 10-6 lead. However, the Eagles would go on a remarkable 10-3 run from that point to take a 16-13 advantage. Northern Arizona tied the set up at 20-all, but a 5-2 spurt by the Eagles, capped off by a Larsen kill, would give Eastern a 25-22 set victory, and allow them to go up 2-1 in the match.
Eastern hit a match-best .368 in the night's final set to pick up a four-point victory over NAU in the frame. Seiler completed the upset with her career-best 18th kill of the night to hand the Lumberjacks their first loss in conference play this season.
"I'm so proud of our team right now," said head coach Michael King. "All week we've been plugging away, working, talking about what to do and how do it. I'm just really proud with how our team responded tonight and how we took what we've been working on all week and applied it. It's fun as a coach to see that happen. I have to give credit to NAU, they're a very, very talented team. It was a fun match, both teams played well tonight."
Win-Loss: Eastern Washington improves to 8-6 on the year and 3-2 in Big Sky play. Meanwhile, the Eagles snap Northern Arizona's seven-match winning streak, as they fall to 12-4 overall and suffer its first conference loss on the season, falling to 4-1.
What it Means: Tonight's win marks the first time since Oct. 15, 2010 that the Eagles have knocked off the Lumberjacks in Cheney. The EWU victory also brings a four-match NAU winning streak over Eastern to a halt.
Top Performers: Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna picked her a team-best fifth double-double on the night, as the Hawaiian native tallied 19 digs, while landing 18 kills. It is the third-straight double-double for Ahuna, and marks the second-straight match that she had collected more digs than kills.
Junior Ashley Seiler ignited the home crowd on Thursday night, as the Cheney native matched her career-best with 18 kills, and set a new career-high in digs with 17, to pick up her second-straight double-double.
Junior Megan LaFond was inserted back into the libero role tonight and she responded by matching her career-best in digs with 19.
Senior Sophie Miller recorded her third-straight double-double by handing out 35 assists and picking up a career-best 19 digs.
Sophomore Taylor Larsen made the most of her first start of the season, as the Colfax, Washington native picked up a career-best 11 kills, while hitting a personal-best .375 in the win.
Turning Point: With the match tied at 1-1, Eastern was facing a 10-6 deficit early in the third set. From that point, the Eagles would go on a 10-3 run that would not only spark them to the set victory, but also set them up for a thrilling four-set win over the defending Big Sky champions.
Key Stats: Eastern Washington continues to dominate teams on the defensive end, as they picked up a season-best 96 digs against Northern Arizona. The Eagles limited the top offensive team in the Big Sky to just a .125 hitting percentage on the night, and held a 10-4.5 advantage in blocks.
Notables: Eastern moves to 35-28 in the all-time series against Northern Arizona.
Tonight's win is the first home victory for the Eagles this season. They were 0-2 coming into tonight's match after a pair of four-set losses to Northern Colorado and North Dakota last week.
Tonight's 10 blocks match a season-best total for the Eagles. They previous hit that total in a thrilling five-set victory over Eastern Kentucky back on Sept. 3.
The 96 digs collected by Eastern tonight marks the second-straight match they've posted 90-or-more digs. The Eagles collected a then-season-best 91 digs in a four-set loss to North Dakota last Friday.
What's Next: The Eastern Washington University volleyball team will have a chance to break even in its season-long four-match home stand on Saturday, as they host Southern Utah for a 7 p.m. match at Reese Court. Fans will receive free admission to the game if they display their game ticket from Saturday's Eastern Washington University football game.
For more information on the Eastern Washington University volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter, or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
