OGDEN, Utah – The final match of a Big Sky Conference road trip for the Eastern Washington University volleyball team took place this evening (Sept. 29) as the Eagles took on Weber State. EWU fell to the Wildcats in straight sets (12-25, 14-25, 13-25) to move to 8-8 (0-4) on the season.
 
"We improved our side out percentage, but we have to continue to do that even more. Tonight we missed Puaoolelagi Sao, she brings us stability and her being out tonight showed that," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "I liked what I saw from Alexandra Espinosa and Kaitlin Sugai. ShaRae Niu was also able to come in and set for us and she did things that were really good. We tried some things that we've never tried before and I think the team worked with us there. We need to compete offensively and keep getting better at serving and passing."
 
Despite hitting .375 with seven kills and only one error on 16 total attempts, the Eagles could never quite match Weber State's momentum in the opening set. The Wildcats hit .414 with 15 kills and three errors in the first set and were able to win 25-12.
 
The Eagles used a 4-0 run to jump out to a 4-2 lead over Weber State, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own. As Weber State continued to extend its lead throughout the match, Eastern found itself facing set point. MaKenna Davis would hammer down a kill and then deliver a service ace to try and spark the Eagles, but it wasn't enough as they dropped set two, 25-14.
 
Both sides exchanged points early on in the third set. Down 12-8, a kill from Kamille Langford and one from Kailtin Sugai put the Eagles within striking distance. WSU would respond with a large run to lead 18-10. Another 5-0 spurt by the Wildcats looked to send Eastern away, but a kill from Alexandra Espinosa fought off match point. Weber State was able to hang on and took the third set, 25-13 and the match 3-0.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles suffered their fifth-straight loss this evening and drop to 8-8 on the season and 0-4 in Big Sky Conference play. Weber State improves to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in conference.
 
Today was the 75^th all-time meeting between the two teams. Eastern owns the all-time record, 43-32 and have won six out of the last ten, but have now dropped two straight to the Wildcats. The Eagles are 13-21 all-time at Weber State.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: MaKenna Davis, Kahle Elliott, Alexandra Espinosa and Kaitlin Sugai each led Eastern with five kills.
 
Davis also had the lone service ace and led the Eagles in blocks with two and in digs with six. Samantha Boever dished out 12 assists while ShaRae Niu had 11.
 
KEY STATS: Weber State had 10 service aces while Eastern only had one. The Wildcats also hit .427 to EWU's .169 clip. Additionally, WSU had one more block than Eastern, 6-5.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles return to Reese Court for a pair of matches next week, beginning with Portland State (Sept. 4) and Sacramento State (Sept. 6). Both matches are set for 6:05 p.m. and admission is complimentary to the public.