LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team faced a 2-1 deficit to Samford University on Saturday morning, Sept. 10, but rallied to score a thrilling 3-2 (25-22, 25-27, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13) victory over the Bulldogs in the second match of the UniWyo Invite.

Eastern was in trenched in a nip-and-tuck battle with SU all morning, as four of the five sets played were decided by three points or less. The Eagles entered the fourth set of the match trailing 2-1 and needed to grab a victory in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set.

EWU delivered as they jumped out to a 14-9 advantage early in the set, then pushed its lead to 19-13 late in the fourth. Eastern would have to withstand a Samford rally, but would put a cap on the set with a Ka'iulani Ahuna kill to win 25-23.

The Eagles would have to mount another comeback in the fifth set, as they were trailing the Bulldogs, 10-7 late in the frame. Eastern Washington rolled off the set's next three points to pull even with Samford at 10-10. That was the start of an 8-3 run to close out the match, as sophomore Kimberly Brinkworth landed the match-winning kill to give EWU a 15-13 set victory to complete the comeback.

"We showed a great deal of self believe in that fifth set," said head coach Michael King. "Both teams had their ups and downs throughout the match. We are gaining some good ground in areas that we needed to get better in. We will continue to improve."

Win-Loss:  The win pushes Eastern Washington's season record to 5-3 overall. For Samford, they fall to 5-4.

What It Means:  Tonight's final match against Wyoming will be the championship game of the UniWyo Invite. The Eagles take on the host Cowgirls at 6 p.m. PT.

Top Performers: Freshman Katie Mahoney matched her career-high in kills with 19. She was one of four players with double-digit kills for Eastern against Samford, as sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna collected 14 kills, while junior Chloe Weber and sophomore Jessica Gilbert each had 10 kills each.

Ahuna recorded the second double-double of her career, and her second in the last three matches, with 14 kills and 14 digs.

Senior Sophie Miller handed out a career-best 45 assists against the Bulldogs. Saturday morning's match marks the second time in the last three matches that Miller has collected 40-or-more assists.

Sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi led the team in digs with 19. She and Ahuna were the lone Eagles with double-digit digs on Saturday morning.

Key Stats: Eastern Washington once again put on a strong defensive effort in the Equality State, as they won the dig battle, 64-58, over Samford. The Eagles had two players reach double-digits in digs, while junior Megan LaFond had nine and sophomore Regan Harr collected a career-best with seven.

What's Next:  The Eastern Washington volleyball team will be back in action this evening, Sept. 10, to play its final match of the UniWyo Invite against host Wyoming. It will be the defacto championship game of the Invite, as both teams enter tonight's finale with a 2-0 record on the weekend.

For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.