PHONEIX -- Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna tallied a career-best 12 kills to help spark the Eastern Washington University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 26-24) victory over Cal State Fullerton in the first match of the Grand Canyon Tournament on Friday, Sept. 2.
Ahuna's efforts helped Eastern post its second-highest hitting percentage as a team this season, as the Eagles hit .273 in the match. The Keaukaha, Hawai'i native hit .259 and recorded her first double-digit kill performance at EWU with 12. Ahuna also had a career night on the defensive end, as she posted a personal-best four digs in the win.
Eastern Washington jumped out to huge leads in the first two sets and fought off a late Cal State Fullerton charge in each frame before taking both sets to bring a 2-0 advantage back into the locker room. The Titans jumped out to a 10-9 lead early in the third – and eventually final – set, but Eastern responded with an 9-3 run to take a commanding 18-13 advantage. EWU was serving for match point with a 24-20 lead, but CSU-F rallied and strung together four-consecutive points to even the frame at 24-all.
Eastern showed some resiliency from that point, as the team collected itself and scored the final two points of the set to win 26-24, and take the match in straight sets.
Win-Loss Records: Tonight's victory brings Eastern's 2016 overall record back to .500, as they are now 2-2 through four matches. For the Titans, they fall to 2-3 on the year.
What it Means: For the second-straight weekend, Eastern Washington has recorded a win in the first match of a three-match tournament. Friday's victory also gives Eastern an opportunity to win the Grand Canyon Tournament tomorrow, Sept. 3. They'll play the hosting Lopes tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. then conclude the weekend with Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. If EWU is victorious in both matches they will win the GCU Tournament.
Keys to the Game: Eastern Washington was clicking on both ends of the court on Friday, as they hit an efficient .273 as a team, while holding Cal State Fullerton to a .129 hitting percentage. The Eagles held a 40-34 advantage in digs to help limit the Titan offense throughout the night.
Top Performers: Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna tallied a career-best in both kills and digs on Friday night. Tonight's 12-kill, 4-dig effort surpasses her previous career highs of eight kills and two digs.
Redshirt sophomore Kimberly Brinkworth hit a career-best .636 with seven kills and no errors on 11 attempts.
Megan LaFond led the Eagles for the fourth-straight match in digs with 14.
Senior Sophie Miller passed out 23 assists and landed a career-best three aces in the victory.
Key Stats: Eastern Washington held a 6-3 advantage in aces against Cal State Fullerton. Senior Sophie Miller landed a match-best three aces, while sophomores Kimberly Brinkworth and Jessica Gilbert, along with freshman Katie Mahoney each had one ace.
Eastern hit a season-best .406 in the second set, which is the highest hitting percentage the team has recorded in a single set this season.
King's Take: On The Team's Victory – "I thought Fullerton did a great job at staying competitive in the match. It wasn't the cleanest match, but we found a way to convert on big plays. I thought our serve and pass game was a lot better. We did a really good job in that area tonight."
On Showing Resiliency after Fullerton tied the third set at 24-all – "We had good opportunities to put it away at 24-20. We had some really good swings, but credit to Fullerton, they recaptured some momentum and pulled even. We had to take a moment to refocus and collect ourselves and we battled through it. It was a good lesson for us to learn with our young roster."
Notables: Eastern Washington picks up its first win over Cal State Fullerton since Sept. 9, 1994. The two teams have played sparingly over the last two decades, as the Titans now hold a 4-3 edge in the all-time series against the Eagles.
Junior Megan LaFond extends her double-digit dig streak to four matches with 14 digs tonight.
Senior Sophie Miller posted her third 20-plus assist match of the year with 23 assists against the Titans.
Sophomore Regan Harr recorded her first double-digit assist match at Eastern Washington. The transfer handed out 10 helps in the win.
Hannah Absalonson and Taylor Larsen each made their 2016 debuts tonight.
Tweet of the Game:
What's Next: Eastern Washington returns to action tomorrow, Sept. 3, as they conclude the Grand Canyon Tournament with a pair of matches against GCU and Eastern Kentucky. The Eagles begin their two-match day at 10 p.m. (PT) when they take on the host Antelopes. EWU's stay in the desert comes to an end at 5 p.m. (PT) tomorrow with a match against the Colonels.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter, or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
