GREELEY, Colo. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team hit the road again to face Northern Colorado in its second match of Big Sky Conference play today (Sept. 22). The Eagles were unable to claim a set from the Bears, falling 3-0 (18-25, 20-25, 18-25).
 
"We definitely got better throughout the game. Our sideout percentage improved from set one to three. To be at the top of this conference you have to sideout at 63 percent and Northern Colorado was able to do that today. We have to get in there and sideout better," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "I thought we did some really good things to slow them down, blocking wise, especially in the first set. Kennedy Kaminsky had a nice game, we were trying to get her the ball. ShaRae Niu also stepped in and gave us energy when we ran a 6-2 the last set."
 
Both teams traded points throughout the early parts of the opening set until UNC used a 4-0 run to lead 7-4. Eastern could never quite catch the Bears as another 3-0 spurt put them ahead 22-13. EWU went on a 3-0 run of their own to trail 22-16, but it wasn't enough as the Bears claimed the final two points to win 25-18 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
EWU found themselves down 13-8 in the second frame when three consecutive Bear errors put them with two points, 13-11. The Eagles then used a 3-1 run that included a kill from Kamille Langford and Alexandra Espinosa to cut the deficit to one. That's when Langford delivered a solo block that tied the set up, 16-16. With the match still close at 19-all, the Bears used four straight points to lead 23-19. They were then able to close out the second set, 25-20.
 
The Bears were able to open a 13-8 lead over EWU in the third set. A 4-0 run later on put them ahead 19-10. The Eagles would threaten with a 4-0 run to trail 21-16 and force a UNC timeout. Facing set point, Kaitlin Sugai delivered a kill, but the Bears were able to hang on to win 25-18 and the match 3-0.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: This is the third-straight loss for the Eagles who are now 8-6 on the season and 0-2 in Big Sky play. With the victory, the Bears improve to 5-6 and are 1-1 in conference action. The all-time series now moves to 18-9 in favor of UNC.
 
TOP-PERFORMANCES: Alexandra Espinosa led the way for the Eagles with nine kills. Kennedy Kaminsky hit .238 with seven kills and only two errors on 21 total attempts.
 
Puaoolelagi Sao paced Eastern with 15 digs. Catelyn Linke also had double-digit digs with 10. Kamille Langford had three blocks while Samantha Boever paced the offense with 19 assists.
 
KEY STATS: The Bears were able to hit at a .220 clip and kept EWU to a .053 hitting percentage. The Eagles were able to outblock the Bears, 6-2. Additionally, UNC had 10 service errors and Eastern only had three. However, Northern Colorado had three service aces and EWU was unable to collect one. Eastern had 19 attack errors to the Bears' 18.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The three-match road swing for the Eagles continues this week at Idaho State (Sept. 27) and Weber State (Sept. 29). First serve is set for 6 p.m. Pacific time for both matches.