CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team took to Reese Court for the first time in three matches today (Oct. 4), hosting Portland State. The Eagles and Vikings battled to five sets, with Eastern coming out on the losing end 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 11-25).
"I saw some good things. We got better in serve-receive as time went on and we got more settled.
MaKenna Davis played a great game for us offensively, she's been battling a few things so to see her come out and do well was awesome," said head coach
Leslie Flores-Cloud. "Once we take control of our serving and our passing, things fall in line with us so I hope to take that to Sacramento State."
EWU found themselves down 8-5 in the opening set before a 3-0 run tied the match at 8-all. Another 3-0 run that included a block from
Kassandra Thomazin and
Catelyn Linke put the Eagles up by one, 11-10. The offensive attack continued for EWU as a 4-0 spurt extended its lead to 15-11. Later in the set, a kill from
MaKenna Davis sparked a 6-1 run to give the Eagles a 24-16 lead. The Vikings would battle back, firing off five straight points to come within four, but it wasn't enough as Davis delivered the set-winning kill to give Eastern a 25-20 victory.
Eastern Washington opened the second set on a 5-0 run, sparked by Linke who had a kill and a service ace to lead things off. Portland State then found its offensive momentum and went on a 14-2 run to lead 16-9. A 6-2 run by the Eagles helped cut the deficit to four points, 19-15. Another 4-0 run by the Vikings put them ahead, 24-17. Facing set point, a kill from Linke started a 4-0 run to come within three points, but the Eagles fell short and dropped the second set, 25-21, tying the match at one-all.
The Eagles worked to lead 10-5 in the third set. A trio of Viking errors helped EWU lead 15-11. Both sides would trade points and Portland State would come within two, 20-18. The Eagles were able to hold on and win 25-21, thanks to final kills from
Kaitlin Sugai,
Parker Buddy and Davis, giving EWU a 2-1 lead.
Portland State used a 10-0 run midway through the first set to lead 14-6. The Eagles could never quite find its footing to bounce back and fell 25-14 to send the match to five sets.
In the decisive fifth set, both sides traded points until Portland State led 8-7 midway through. A quick 2-0 run that included consecutive kills from Linke put the Eagles up 9-8. With the match tied 11-11, PSU used a 4-0 run to win 15-11 and take the match in five sets.
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: With the loss, Eastern Washington drops to 8-9 on the year and 0-5 in Big Sky Conference play. Portland State snaps a 15-match losing streak with the victory and moves to 2-15 on the season and 1-4 in conference.
Tonight marked the 55
th all-time meeting between the two teams. Portland State now leads the all-time series, 28-27, and has won the last three matches between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMANCES: MaKenna Davis led the Eagles with a career-high 15 kills and she also finished with 14 digs for her second career double-double.
Catelyn Linke turned in her fifth career double-double, third of the season, with 11 kills and 18 digs.
Kassandra Thomazin, in her first collegiate match, led the Eagles with three blocks.
Puaoolelagi Sao totaled a career-best 30 digs and
Samantha Boever led the team with 25 assists and two aces.
Grace Nelson also had a career-high 13 assists.
KEY STATS: The Eagles had six service aces to Portland State's three. However, the Vikings hit at a .230 clip to EWU's .161. PSU also outblocked Eastern, 10 to five.
WHAT'S NEXT: Eastern returns to Reese Court on Saturday (Oct. 6) when they host Sacramento State at 6:05 p.m. Admission is complimentary to the public.
MORE FROM COACH FLORES-CLOUD:
On Top Performances: "
MaKenna Davis played wonderful for us tonight. She really was going.
Catelyn Linke was back there passing nails which was awesome. We thought
Kassandra Thomazin would redshirt this year, but with three of our middles out, she has really stepped up for us and I'm proud of her and her growth."
