CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team fought back from a 2-1 deficit on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 23) and topped Montana State by a score of 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 21-25, 26-24, 16-14).
"I was very pleased with how we competed throughout the match. You can coach skills and have a game plan in place, but it takes players to execute that plan," said head coach Michael King. "Our upperclassmen said in a timeout that they are not losing today. It was a player won match through grit and pride for one another. I couldn't be happier with how they made the decision to compete this afternoon."
Eastern Washington and Montana State each took one set a piece and headed into intermission with a 1-1 tie. MSU would hang on to capture the third set, although they only hit at a .062 clip.
Both sides went point-for-point in the critical fourth set. MSU led 22-20, and looked to close it out when the Eagles came storming back. Chloe Weber came up with a kill to come within one, but then MSU fired off back-to-back kills to lead 24-21. That's when Taylor Larsen and Ashley Seiler came up with two crucial kills, followed by blocks from Weber and Larsen to take a 25-24 lead and force a timeout. A Bobcat attack error sealed the 26-24 victory and forced set five.
Neither side could break away in the fifth set, as both teams seemed to trade points. Trailing 14-13, a MSU service error tied the set back up. Larsen came up with a crucial kill to lead 15-14 and force a Bobcat timeout. However, Larsen's momentum could not be stopped as she hammered down the game-winning kill to give the Eagles a 16-14 set five victory en route to a 3-2 win.
"I give MSU a ton of credit. They came in with a ton of energy and a healthy chip on their shoulder. They made us earn the win today," added King. "Both of our middles, Chloe and Jayde, were fantastic and they scored when needed. I also thought Taylor Larsen played very steady and had key blocks and kills at critical times."
Win-Loss Records: Eastern won its fourth straight match to improve to 5-6 on the season and 2-0 in Big Sky play. The Bobcats drop to 4-7 and 0-2 in conference play. This is EWU's fifth-straight win over Montana State, as they now improve the all-time series to 53-20 all-time and 32-5 at Reese Court. Michael King improves to 6-1 all-time over MSU.
Top Performers: EWU had four players collect digs into the double digits in Ashley Seiler, who led the team with 18, Regan Harr (16), Megan LaFond (15), and Emma Dunn (11). Harr garnered her fifth double-double of the season as she also had 32 assists.
For the first time this season, Kahle Elliot led the team in kills with 13, followed by Taylor Larsen who had a season-high 11. Jayde Robertsen and Alexandra Espinosa each had 10. Robertsen led the team with a .467 hitting percentage (10k-3e-15ta).
Key Stats: Eastern recorded more kills than the Bobcats (62-56), but MSU hit at a better clip than the Eagles. Defensively, both sides each recorded seven team blocks, and EWU edged MSU in digs (78-74).
Noteables: This was Eastern's third five set match in four games. The Eagles are now 4-1 on the season in five-set matches.
Next Up: EWU now hits the road for the next four game of Big Sky Conference play, beginning with a match at Northern Colorado on Sept. 28 and at North Dakota on Sept. 30.
