WEEK 12 MATCH NOTES
at Montana State: WATCH | LIVE STATS
at Montana: WATCH | LIVE STATS

CHENEY, Wash. – In the final week of the regular season, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is headed to face Montana State and Montana. The Eagles travel to Bozeman, Mont., for a matchup against the Bobcats on Thursday (Nov. 9) before facing the Grizzlies in Missoula on Saturday.
 
This is the second-time EWU has faced both teams this season. Eastern Washington opened up Big Sky Conference play against both squads, topping Montana 3-1 before beating MSU in five sets. Both the Bobcats and Eastern Washington are still fighting for a spot in the Big Sky Championship on Nov. 16-18 while Montana is out of contention.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles played their final two home matches of the season last week, dropping to North Dakota in straight sets but topping Northern Colorado in a thrilling five sets.
 
In EWU's match against the Bears, set three lasted 40 minutes and saw 18 ties and 12 lead changes with both sides fighting off set point five times. The Eagles would end up dropping the third set to take a 2-1 deficit, but were able to take the next two en route to the victory. Megan LaFond and Ashley Seiler each had a double-double and led the team with 19 kills each. Catelyn Linke led the team with 28 digs and Regan Harr also had a double-double with 50 assists and 19 digs.
 
EAGLE LEADERS: The win against Northern Colorado snapped an eight-match skid for the Eagles, who are 7-16 overall and 4-10 in Big Sky play.
 
EWU is led by Ashley Seiler who has 342 kills on the year, averaging 4.02 per set, which is 44th in the nation and first in the Big Sky. Megan LaFond has racked up 380 digs this season, and her 4.22 digs per set ranks in the top 150 across Division I and eighth in the Big Sky. Regan Harr leads the team with 564 assists and has 14 double-doubles so far this season.
 
As a team, the Eagles rank 52nd in the nation with 16.51 digs per set as they have 1,486 on the year to rank fourth in the conference. They are only hitting .149 as a team and allow opponents to hit at a .225 clip. Eastern also ranks in the top-half of the conference with 12.22 kills per set and 19th in the nation with 38.39 attacks per set.
 
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS: Montana State is 9-14 overall and 5-9 in conference play. They have won three out of their last five matches, included a five set victory at North Dakota. As a team, the Bobcats are hitting at a .164 clip and are allowing opponents to hit .220. Allyssa Rizzo leads the team with 432 digs, good for 4.70 per set which is third in the conference. Natalie Passeck has 236 kills on the year and averages 3.11 a set. As a team, MSU averages 12.08 kills a set.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington owns a 53-20 lead in the all-time series, as Thursday marks the 74th meeting. The Eagles have claimed the last five from the Bobcats, including a 3-2 victory this season.
 
Against the Bobcats earlier this season, Kahle Elliott, Taylor Larsen and Jayde Robertsen each tallied double-digit kills while Ashley Seiler led the team with 18 digs. Regan Harr had a double-double of 32 assists and 16 digs.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES: Montana is 7-20 overall with a 2-12 mark in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies have lost their last five matches and are eliminated from the championship. As a team, the Grizzlies are hitting .164 and letting their opponents hit .232. Mykaela Hammer leads the team in both kills (3.17) and digs (2.32) per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the 76th meeting between the Griz and the Eagles, with Montana owning a slight 39-36 edge all-time. Eastern has claimed the last three meetings, including a 3-1 victory to open Big Sky play this season. Against the Griz, Ashley Seiler led the team with 17 kills and had 11 digs. The Eagles also had six service aces, and Jayde Robertsen led the team with four blocks. Both Regan harr and Emma Dunn had digs in the double digits.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles will hope for two good results this weekend and await results around the league to see if they will make it to the conference tournament for the third season in a row. The 2017 championship will be hosted by the regular season champion, Sacramento State, on Nov. 16-18.