CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team looks to get back to its winning ways as it readies to head out on the first Big Sky Conference road trip of the season. The Eagles take on the Northern Colorado Bears in Greeley, Colo., this Saturday (Sept. 22) at 6 p.m. Pacific time in the Bank of Colorado Arena.
 
HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch the Eagles take on the Bears for free on WatchBigSky.com or Pluto TV Channel 241. Additionally, live stats will be available HERE and those interested can follow @EWUVB on Twitter for in-game updates.

Match Information

Date	Sept. 22
Location	Greeley, Colo. Bank of Colorado Arena
Opponent	Nothern Colorado 6 p.m. PT
Live & Stream Stats	Stats | Stream Pluto TV Ch. 241
Twitter	@EWUVB
Match Notes	Week 5

 

THE MATCHUP: The Eagles currently have the best overall record in the conference at 8-5, but find themselves at the bottom of the standings following a 3-0 loss to Idaho to open Big Sky play last Tuesday. Northern Colorado opens its conference slate this evening (Sept. 20) at home, playing host to Idaho. The Bears are 5-4 overall after having their last tournament in Virginia canceled due to Hurricane Florence. EWU was picked 11^th out of 11 teams in the preseason poll while the Bears were selected to finish sixth.
 
GET TO KNOW THE EAGLES: The Eagles are currently 8-5 overall, which is the best record in the league tied with Northern Arizona. EWU opened its Big Sky slate on Tuesday at home and fell to Idaho in straight sets. It was the first time all season that they have lost back-to-back matches.

Alexandra Espinosa leads Eastern's offensive attack with 2.79 kills/set, totaling 92 on the season. Freshman Kennedy Kaminsky is also an offensive threat as she hits at a .241 clip with 2.23 kills/set. Kamille Langford also averages two kills per set, with 2.12 and 91 total.
 
Junior Samantha Boever paces Eastern's offense with 9.34 assists per set, totaling 439 assists on the year which is seventh in the conference. Catelyn Linke averages 0.38 services aces per set with 18 total aces which ranks in the top-five in the Big Sky, followed by MaKenna Davis who averages 0.32 with 15.
 
The Eagles also have two players that average over three digs per set in Puaoolelagi Sao with 3.74, totaling 172 and Linke who averages 3.26 with 154 total digs. Davis has also totaled 115 with 2.45 per set.
 
Defensively, Kamille Langford leads the Eagles with 40 total blocks, averaging .93/set. Kaminsky averages .78 blocks per set with 36 total and Sugai averages .81 with 25 total.
 
As a team, the Eagles swing at a .181 clip and average 11.81 kills per set. They also average 17.11 digs/set which is second among Big Sky foes and 1.90 blocks/set. They also average 1.45 service aces per set, which ranks third in the conference. EWU limits their opponents to just a .194 clip, which is second in the Big Sky.
 
GET TO KNOW THE BEARS: Northern Colorado is 4-5 overall and take a two-match win streak into its match this evening against Idaho. Three of the Bears' wins have come in straight sets and they took No. 12 Illinois to five sets earlier this season.
 
Kortney Lockey leads UNC with 3.78 kill/set with a .218 hitting percentage. Lauren Hinrichs also averages 2.59 kills/set with a .366 hitting percentage which is second in the league.
 
Daisy Schultz leads the Bears' offense with 10.52 assists per set to rank third in the Big Sky. Taylor Els leads the way defensively with 4.94 digs/set.  
 
The Bears limit their opponents to a .191 hitting percentage and lead the Big Sky with 12.28 assists/set and 12.97 kills/set. They also average 1.53 services aces to ranks second among BSC foes.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the 27^th all-time meeting between the Bears and Eagles with UNC owning the all-time series, 17-9. EWU is 4-8 all-time in the Bank of Colorado Arena and have dropped seven out of the last 10 meetings.
 
The two teams last met on Nov. 3, 2017 when the Eagles won a five-set thriller at home over the Bears, snapping a four-match losing streak.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles took to Reese Court for the first time this season for their Big Sky Conference opener against Idaho on Sept. 18. Eastern was unable to collect a set from the Vandals, falling 3-0 (21-25, 24-26, 13-25). Kaitlin Sugai led the way with seven kills while hitting .333. Both Puaoolelagi Sao (12) and MaKenna Davis (10) had double digit digs while Samantha Boever dished out 23 assists. Kennedy Kaminsky paced Eastern with four blocks.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Sky road trip continues with matches at Idaho State (Sept. 27) and Weber State (Sept. 29). The Eagles return home for two-straight against Portland State (Oct. 4) and Sacramento State (Oct. 6).