CHENEY, Wash. – The second half of Big Sky Conference play is officially underway as the Eastern Washington University volleyball team travels to Portland State and Sacramento State this week.
The Eagles clash with the Vikings on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. in Portland, Ore. The road trip concludes on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. against the Hornets.
HOW TO WATCH: Both games can be streamed for free on Pluto TV, with Thursday's match airing on channel 532 and Saturday's on 533. The matches will also be on WatchBigSky.com with live stats on EWUStats.com.
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is 4-18 overall with a 2-8 mark in conference play. After sweeping Idaho State for their first win on the road in Pocatello on Oct. 24, the Eagles fell to Weber State 3-1 at Reese Court.
The Eagles are hitting .134 as a team and averaging 10.7 kills per set. Additionally, they average 10.0 assists, 1.3 aces, 15.2 digs and 1.5 blocks per frame.
Ashlyn Blotzer, a sophomore, leads the team with 2.19 kills per set and is hitting .221. She has garnered double-digit kills in four out of her last six matches.
MaKenna Davis follows with 1.97 kills per set and has had double-digit kills in four-straight matches and five out of the last six. She also leads the team with .32 service aces per set, which is sixth in the Big Sky, while Blotzer averages .27.
Blotzer also leads the Eagles at the net with .69 blocks per set, totaling 56 on the season.
Catelyn Linke and
Puaoolelagi Sao have split libero duties this season. Linke leads the team with 4.23 digs per set while Sao has 3.79 to rank fifth and eighth in the Big Sky, respectively.
Ana Paula Zandona paces the Eagle offense with 7.77 assists per set which is ninth in the Big Sky.
A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Portland State is 8-13 overall and 4-6 in Big Sky action. They are coming off a week that saw them top Montana State at home, 3-1, before falling to Montana in Missoula, 3-1. The Vikings are currently tied for fifth in the Big Sky standings.
PSU is tough defensively, as they lead the conference with 16.93 digs per set while ranking fourth in blocks with 2.17. Additionally, they're sixth in opponent hitting percentage, limiting their foes to .197.
Toni McDougald ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 3.17 kills per set while Caroline Dragani is seventh in assists per set (8.79). They also boast Jordan White who is the conference leader in blocks with 1.35 per set and Ellie Snook who ranks second in digs with 5.44 per frame.
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington and Portland State met this season on Sept. 27 in Cheney where the Eagles fell in straight sets.
EWU trails the all-time series 27-30 and are 10-16 in Portland. Eastern will look to snap a nine-match losing streak on the road to the Vikings, with their last win coming on Nov. 15, 2008.
A win would also snap a currently losing streak of five matches to PSU, as Eastern hasn't beat the Vikings since Oct. 10, 2015.
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS: Sacramento State is currently tied for third in the Big Sky with a 6-4 conference record and are 11-12 overall. Over the weekend, the Hornets beat Montana at home, 3-1, but lost to Montana State in five sets on the road.
The Hornets rank third in the Big Sky with 12.54 kills per set and fourth with 11.47 assists. They also rank in the top five in service aces (1.29) and digs (15.93) per set.
Sarah Davis leads the conference with 4.38 kills per set, totaling 416 on the year which is 108 more than second place. She is also third in service aces with .37 per set.
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington trails the all-time series, 17-37, and are just 5-23 all-time in Sacramento.
The Eagles are looking for their first win over the Hornets since Oct. 8, 2015 as they have lost six-straight. They're last win on the road came on Oct. 9, 2014.
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington returns to Reese Court for back-to-back matches next week. The Eagles host Montana State on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6:05 p.m. before taking on Montana on Friday, Nov. 8, also at 6:05 p.m.
All regular season matches are complimentary to the public and can be streamed for free on Pluto TV Ch. 534.
