GREENVILLE, N.C. – The final match of the Pirate Invitational ended on the right foot for the Eastern Washington volleyball team as they cruised to a three-set (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) victory over Gardner-Webb this afternoon (Sept. 7). The Eagles are now 7-3 to start the season for only the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2006. With the loss, the Runnin' Bulldogs drop to 3-6.
 
"The reason why we won this match was solely on our serving, we were able to keep their side out percentage to 43-percent. We had 10 aces and Catelyn Linke led the way," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "We talk a lot about serving and passing and it's pleasing to me that we did well with that today."
 
After both sides settled in to the first frame, Eastern started to break away with an 18-13 lead following a kill from Taylor Larsen. Gardner-Webb then used a 7-1 run to take a two-point lead over the Eagles, forcing an EWU timeout. A Runnin' Bullog kill gave them set point, but Eastern Washington would not back down. Two GWU errors and a block from Larsen and Alexandra Espinosa tied the set at 24-all. A kill from Espinosa and another Runnin' Bulldog error gave Eastern the 26-24 set one victory after fighting off set point three times.
 
It was all Eastern in set two. With a 9-7 lead, the Runnin' Bulldogs would threaten with a small run and the set would knot up at 11-all. That's when Eastern Washington exploded, using a 14-4 run the remainder of the set to the frame 25-15 and give themselves a 2-0 lead in the match. The Eagles swung at a .121 clip for the second set, with 10 kills and six errors on 33 attempts.
 
The momentum only continued from there as the Eagles opened the decisive third set on an 11-2 run. Eastern Washington then worked its lead to 18-8 when the momentum turned. The Runnin' Bulldogs came storming back, using an 11-3 run of their own to force Eastern to take its first timeout of the set, ahead 22-18. The Eagles were able to hang on to the 23-20 edge over GWU. MaKenna Davis would hammer down a kill and Puaoolelagi Sao delivered the game-winning service ace to give Eastern the 25-20 victory and the 3-0 sweep.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles are now 7-3 for first time since 2006. This is only fifth time starting season 7-3 as EWU has already matched its win total from last season. Gardner-Webb drops to 3-6 on the season. Today was the first time the teams have faced off in program history.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: Kamille Langford led the team with eight kills, followed by MaKenna Davis and Alexandra Espinosa who each had five. Samantha Boever paced Eastern's offense with 26 assists. Puaoolelagi Sao led Eastern with 14 digs while Kaitlin Sugai led EWU at the net with six total blocks. Catelyn Linke led Eastern with five service aces, marking the first time since Sept. 9, 2017 that an Eagle has done so. Alexandra Espinosa led the team with a .200 hitting percentage (5k-1e-20ta).
 
KEYS TO THE MATCH: The Eagles tied their season high 10 service aces, while Gardner-Webb only had five. Eastern also held GWU to a clip under .100 while swinging .142 themselves. Both teams had nine blocks and 28 assists and the Eagles edged the Runnin' Bulldogs in digs, 48 to 46.
 
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Sophomores Kamille Langford and Puaoolelagi Sao were named to the all-tournament team for their performances this weekend. Langford tallied 31 kills for an average of 3.10 per set along with seven total blocks. Sao totaled 44 digs for an average of 4.40 per set.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: Just two more nonconference matches remain for the Eagles before the start of Big Sky Conference play. EWU heads to its final tournament of the year at the Cardinal Classic next week, Sept. 14-15. Eastern takes on Alcorn State on Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific time before taking on the hosts Incarnate Word on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. PT.
 
Big Sky play begins at home against Idaho on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. Admission to all regular season home games is complimentary to the public.