BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team had a season-best four players post double-digit kills en route to a 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 11-25, 25-18) victory at Montana State on Saturday night, Sept. 24, to end the opening weekend of Big Sky Conference play a perfect 2-0.
Sophomores Ka'iulani Ahuna and Jessica Gilbert each paced the offense with 16 kills apiece. The 16 kills marks a new career-best for Ahuna, while Gilbert's performance marked a new season-best in the category, as she was just one kill shy of her career-best mark. Freshman Katie Mahoney picked her third double-digit kill match over her last four contests with 11 kills, while sophomore Kimberly Brinkworth collected a career-best 10 kills.
As a team, the Eagles picked up a season-best 61 kills in a four-set match. They were coming off a previous season-best in kills for a four-set match by landing 48 at Montana on Thursday.
Eastern's improved offensive play in the final two sets against Montana on Thursday, Sept. 22, carried over into the first two sets of Saturday's match, as the Eagles hit over .380 in both sets, including a match-best .452 hitting percentage in the second set, to pick up a pair of 25-17 wins, and take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
Montana State came out and held Eastern to a -.082 hitting percentage in the third set to win 25-11 and force a decisive fourth set. EWU recovered and used a 7-2 run midway through the fourth to break a 6-6 tie and take a commanding 13-8 lead. The Bobcats would rally, as they pulled within two points at 20-18, but Eastern closed the match on a 5-0, capped off by an Ahuna kill, to take the set 25-18 and win the match in four sets.
"MSU's record doesn't reflect on how tough they played us tonight," said head coach Michael King. I'm really proud of how we are growing in the right areas. We played really well in the first two sets of the match, and then got to comfortable and Montana State took the third. We need to use that as a lesson for us as the season progesses."
Win-Loss Records: Tonight's win improves Eastern Washington's overall record to 7-4, while they move to 2-0 in Big Sky play. The Eagles are the only remaining team in the North Division with an undefeated recorded in league play, while they also boast the division's best overall mark. For Montana State, they drop to 2-9 on the year and 0-2 in Big Sky action.
What it Means: The Eagles end their season-opening 11-match road trip with a 7-4 record. Eastern returns to Reese Court playing some of its best volleyball of the season, as they have now won five of its last six matches.
Keys Stats: Eastern Washington put together another strong defensive effort, as the Eagles picked up 54 digs in the four-set victory. Tonight's defensive effort marks the second-straight contest in which the Eagles have posted 50-plus digs in a four-set match. Ashlee Vaoifi paced the team with 20 digs.
Top Performers: Redshirt sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna collected a career-best 16 kills, while hitting .265 for the match. The Hawaiian native was one dig shy of her third double-double of the year, as she collected nine. Â
Sophomore Jessica Gilbert posted a season-best 16 kills, just one shy of her career-best of 17, which was collected last season at Idaho. Gilbert also hit a team-best .400 to give the sophomore her seventh match with a .350-or-higher hitting percentage this year.
Senior Sophie Miller handed out a career-best 53 assists in the victory. She ends the weekend in Montana with a total of 93 assists. The Federal Way, Washington native also added five digs and two kills.
Turning Point: The Eagles came out of the gate strong offensively and it helped pace Eastern to its seventh victory of the season. EWU hit a combined .414 in the first two sets to pick up a pair of 25-17 victories to start the night. Eastern Washington hit .386 in the first set, then followed that up with a .452 effort in the second set. The Eagles had just nine errors through the first two frames against the Bobcats on Saturday.
Team Highlights: Eastern Washington had a season-best four players reach double-digits in kills on Saturday night. Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna and Jessica Gilbert each landed 16 kills, while freshman Katie Mahoney and sophomore Kimberly Brinkworth had 11 and 10, respectively.
Notables: Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna posted a career-best 16 kills in the win over Montana. The Hawaiian native has now recorded five double-digit kill matches this season. She also hit a season-best .265 in the victory.
Sophomore Jessica Gilbert hit an even .400 to give the Modesto, California native her second-straight match with a hitting percentage above .350. It is also the third time this season she has posted a hitting percentage of .400-or-better.
Senior Sophie Miller handed out a career-best 53 assists on Saturday against the Bobcats. Tonight's effort extends her double-digit assist streak to 11 matches, while she has now recorded four matches with 40-or-more assists.
Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi paced the team with 20 digs. It is the third time over the last four matches that the Whitmore, Hawai'i native has posted double-digits in digs, and it is also the second-straight match that the libero has eclipsed the 20-dig mark, as she also had 21 against Montana on Thursday.
Tweet of the Match:
What's Next: Eastern Washington will finally play at home in 2016, as they'll host a pair of matches on back-to-back nights next week. The Eagles will take on Northern Colorado on Thursday, Sept. 29, before hosting North Dakota next Friday, Sept. 30 at Reese Court. Both matches start at 6 p.m. PST.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
