CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team fell to Southern Utah by a score of 3-1 on Saturday morning (Oct. 7). EWU fell behind 1-0 before taking the second set, but were unable to secure the victory as the Thunderbirds took the next two.

"We had some really nice moments today, but not enough to finish the day. We will hit reset and continue to get better," said head coach Michael King.
 
Eastern hit .280 in the first set and recorded 14 kills, but were unable to take the victory. Both sides were even through the first portion until SUU broke away with a 13-8 lead. EWU eventually fought back to come within one, 19-18, but the Thunderbirds scored six of the last eight points to win 25-20.
 
EWU was efficient in the second set as they hit at a .324 clip. Eastern found themselves down 8-5, but a 4-0 run aided by two service aces from Megan LaFond gave them a 9-8 lead. The Eagles opened its largest lead 20-16, and took it away from there as they scored the final three points to seal the second set, 25-20.
 
Following the break, the momentum was on the Eagles' side as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead to force a Southern Utah timeout. The Thunderbirds then broke away with a 7-2 run to lead 11-9. EWU found themselves within two for the remainder of the match, but SUU was able to fire off the last five points to win 25-18.
 
In the pivotal fourth set, EWU could never quite find their footing as they trailed 14-10 at one point. Eastern then fought back and was able to tie the set at 20-20 and then 21-21. An ace from Emma Dunn gave Eastern a 24-22 lead as they looked to close it out and head to set five. However, Southern Utah did not back down as they scored four consecutive points to win 26-24.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern now drops to 6-9 on the season and 3-3 in Big Sky play. The win marked the first conference victory for the Thunderbirds, who are now 6-12 overall and 1-5 in the league. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak over SUU, and is the program's first loss in Cedar City. The series history now moves to 6-3 in favor of Eastern Washington.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: Ashley Seiler led all players with 17 kills, followed by Catelyn Linke who had a career-high 11. Linke also led the Eagles with a career-high 22 digs, followed by Megan LaFond who totaled 19. LaFond also paced Eastern with two service aces. Chloe Weber led EWU with a season-high five blocks, while Emma Dunn dished out 23 assists. Regan Harr was right behind her with 22.
 
KEY STATS: Both teams were even with 57 kills apiece. While EWU had more digs (77-68), the Thunderbirds were able to total 13 blocks to Eastern's seven and also had seven aces while EWU only had three.
 
NOTEABLES: Three players earned double-doubles for Eastern in Catelyn Linke (11k, 22d), Ashley Seiler (17k, 12d) and Regan Harr (22a, 11d). It was Harr's sixth straight match with assists and digs into the double figures, her ninth of the season and 16th of her career. It was also Seiler's 16th career double-double and eighth of the season, while Linke totaled her second.
 
Seiler has now led the team in kills in 14 of 15 matches and has also totaled kills into the double-digits in all but one.
 
In her second career start, Leanna Shymanski totaled nine kills and led Eastern in hitting percentage with .368 (9k-2e-19ta).
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington returns to Reese Court on Thursday (Oct. 12) for a 6 p.m. matchup against Idaho State. The following Saturday, Eastern takes on Idaho in Moscow.