CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team looks to secure a berth into the Big Sky Volleyball Championship this week, as they host Montana State this Thursday (Nov. 10) before taking on Montana this Saturday (Nov. 12) for Senior Night. First serve against the Bobcats is set for 6 p.m. PT, while the Eagles and Grizzlies is slated for an 8 p.m. PT start time.
Eastern enters the final week of the regular season needing just one win to secure its second-straight Big Sky Volleyball Championship bid. The Eagles are currently 6-8 in conference play, which puts them in seventh place in the league entering the regular season's final week of matches. The top eight teams advance to the postseason.
EWU opens its two-match week at 11-12 overall on the year. It is the first time since the Grand Canyon Tournament back on Sept. 2 that the Eagles have begun a week below .500 on the year.
Montana State and Montana will be looking to play the role of spoiler this weekend, as they'll take on a pair of teams looking to secure one of the two final slots of next week's Big Sky Volleyball Championship. The two Treasure State school take on both Idaho, who needs two wins and an Eastern Washington loss to qualify for the Championship, and Eastern Washington, who can clinch a postseason berth with just one victory, this week.
Free Admission on Saturday
Fans will receive free admission to Saturday's Senior Night match if they bring their ticket stub from Saturday's Eastern Washington football game against Idaho State to Reese Court. First serve against the Griz is set for 8 p.m. PT.
Last Time Out
The Eastern Washington University volleyball team ran into a hot-hitting Northern Colorado team on Saturday night (Nov. 5), as the Eagles end their two-match Big Sky road trip with a 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 20-25) loss to the Bears.
Northern Colorado hit .337 against an Eastern defense that ranked second in the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage coming into Saturday's match. UNC is only the third team to hit above the .300-mark against the Eagles this season, and it is the first time an opponent has hit over .300 in 14 matches against EWU.
All-Time Series
Montana State: The Eagles will be going for the season sweep of the Bobcats this Thursday, as they captured a four-set victory against MSU in Bozeman back on Sept. 24. Eastern has won three-straight matches in the series, however, Montana State still holds a 50-21 advantage in the all-time series.
Montana: Eastern will also be going for the season sweep of the Grizzlies this week after breaking a three-match losing streak to UM with a four-set victory to open Big Sky play back on Sept. 22. Montana holds a slim 39-34 lead in a series that dates back to 1982.
Sophie Night
This Saturday will be Senior Night for Eastern's lone senior Sophie Miller. The setter has had a wonderful four-year career with Eastern Washington that has seen her play several different positions for the benefit of the team. She enters her final week as a Eagle with 1,422 career assists, 458 career digs, 240 career kills and 55 career aces.
Miller transitioned back to her natural position of setter this season, after spending all of 2015 in the right side position. The Federal Way, Washington native leads the team in assists with 639 and service aces at 31. Her 0.38 ace-per-set average is third-best in the conference, while Miller's 7.70 assists-per-set average is ninth-best in the Big Sky. She has handed out double-digit assists in all 22 matches she has played this season, and has picked up eight double-doubles over her last 10 matches entering the final week of regular season play.
Conference Rankings
The Eagles still possesses the second-best opponent hitting percentage in the Big Sky, as they are holding teams to a .172 hitting percentage against them. The team is fifth in kills-per-set (13.02), sixth in assists-per-set (12.28), digs-per-set (16.09) and service aces-per-set (1.13) and seventh in block-per-set at 1.98.
Senior Sophie Miller and redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi rank inside the top 10 of the conference ranking for Eastern. Miller is third in the Big Sky in aces-per-set (0.38), while she is ninth in assists-per-set (7.79). Vaoifi is 10th in the league in digs-per-set at 3.98.
Knowing Your Opponent: Montana State
The Bobcats enter the regular season's final week of play looking to snap a four-match losing streak. MSU is 5-18 overall on the year and 3-11 through 14 conference matches. The Bobcats need to win both of their matches this week have and Idaho and Weber State go 1-1 to make the Big Sky Volleyball Championship.
Montana State is second to last in the conference in hitting percentage, as they are averaging a .149 clip this season. Natalie Passeck is the team's top hitter with a .218 clip on a team-high 641 swing this season. Passeck also leads the team in kills (219) and kills-per-set (2.67).
Defensively, the Bobcats are at the bottom of the league in opponent hitting percentage, as teams are hitting .260 against them. They are last in the conference in digs-per-set at 12.98. Freshman Allyssa Rizzo is eighth in the Big Sky in digs-per-set with a 4.22 clip.
Knowing Your Opponent: Montana
The Grizzlies enter this final week of play out of Big Sky Volleyball Championship contention, as they are 2-12 through 14 Big Sky matches. Montana is 5-19 overall on the year after collecting a straight-set victory over Montana State last Saturday (Nov. 4).
UM is last in the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage with a .113 mark. They rank 11th in the league in kills-per-set at 10.87. Alexis Urbach leads the team with 211 kills through 24 matches, which is good for a 2.51 kills-per-set average.
Montana is allowing teams to hit .239 against them, which is the second-highest opponent hitting percentage in the Big Sky. The Griz are last in blocks-per-set at 1.40, while their 14.07 digs-per-set average is the second-lowest in the conference. Senior Sadie Ahearn is ninth in the Big Sky in digs-per-set at 4.06.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
