SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For only the sixth time in program history, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is victorious on the road at Sacramento State. The Eagles beat the Hornets in Big Sky Conference action today (Nov. 2) in five sets 17-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12.
 
Catelyn Linke collected the fourth-most aces in program history in a five-set match with six, while Ana Paula Zandona put together a double-double of 35 assists and 12 digs. Nicoletta Capizzi led the team with 10 kills.
 
"This was a huge road win for us. Our focus and relentless effort helped us win," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "Credit to Catelyn Linke, she was huge with serving and digging. Nicoletta Capizzi also showed up offensively. It was good stuff all around and we can't wait to get home and play again at Reese Court next week."
 
Eastern was slow to start offensively, hitting just .036 to open the first set with nine kills. The Hornets were able to hit .393 with 12 kills to take the opening set, 25-16.
 
The Eagles found their groove in the second set and opened up a 12-7 lead. Sacramento State would fire off four-straight points to come within a point, 12-11, but Eastern Washington kept its advantage and eventually extended the lead to 16-12. Leading 18-16, Capizzi came up with a kill that would spark a 7-0 run that shutout the Hornets to close the set.
 
Linke was huge down the stretch, firing off three of her six aces on the night to help Eastern win 25-16 in the second set to even the match. It was the best set of the afternoon for Eastern Washington, as they swung .324 with 14 kills and only three errors.
 
It was Sacramento State's turn in the third set as they opened up a 4-0 lead over the Eagles and never trailed from there. The Hornets held Eastern to negative hitting percentage and took the 25-16 victory in set three to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
Eager to put the third set behind them, Eastern Washington jumped out to a 12-3 lead in set four. Up just 5-3, a kill from MaKenna Davis that was followed by a combo block from Capizzi and Renata Lopez Morales helped Eastern score seven unanswered points.
 
The Hornets threatened with a 6-1 run to cut the lead to 13-9. It was a game of runs from there. Eastern Washington used a 3-0 spurt to extend the lead 19-11 only to have Sacramento State answer back with five-straight points to cut the lead to 19-16. It was then Eastern's turn, shutting out the Hornets with five-straight points. The run included three aces in a row from Zandona and gave the Eagles set point, 24-16.
 
However, the Hornets would not back down. They fired off six-straight points and threatened the Eagles by cutting the lead to 24-22. Davis then came up with a kill to hold off Sacramento State and the Eagles forced set five with a 25-22 victory.
An early 4-0 run that began with a kill from Capizzi helped Eastern lead 5-2 to open the fifth and final set and forced a Sacramento State timeout. Out of the timeout, the Eagles went on a 3-1 run to lead 8-3 as the teams switched sides.
 
The lead built to 11-6 and the Eagles were preparing to put the set away when the Hornets scored four-straight to come within a point and force an EWU timeout. Kills from Zandona and Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala out of the timeout gave Eastern match point, 14-11. The Hornets threatened once more, but Keala was there again for the match-winning kill. Eastern Washington took set five over Sacramento State, 15-12, and won the match in five sets.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: With the victory, Eastern Washington improves to 5-19 overall and 3-9 in Big Sky play. The Eagles have gone 3-3 in their last six matches.
 
The Hornets fall to 12-13 and 7-5 in conference action.
 
The win marks Eastern's first victory over the Hornets since Oct. 8, 2015 and also puts a stop to a six-match losing skid to Sacramento State.
 
The victory is also just Eastern Washington's sixth win in program history on the road in Sacramento and the first since Oct. 9, 2014. The Eagles are now 18-37 all-time over the Hornets.
 
Back on Sept. 26 of this season, the Eagles fell to Sacramento State 3-1 at home to open Big Sky Conference play.
 
The win also marked Eastern's fourth fifth set victory of the season. They are 4-1 when matches go the distance this season.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Catelyn Linke had a big afternoon from the service line with six of Eastern's 12 aces, which is tied for fourth all-time in program history for aces in a five-set match and tied for ninth for most in an overall match.
 
It is also the first time an Eagle has had that many aces in a five-set match since Janie Hogan had seven on Oct. 26, 1990.
 
Ana Paula Zandona had a double-double with 35 assists and 12 digs, her fourth of the season. She also totaled three aces.
 
Nicoletta Capizzi led the Eagles with 10 kills. She hit .400 on the afternoon with only two errors on 20 attempts while also leading the team with five blocks.
 
Renata Lopez Morales followed closely with nine kills while Ashlyn Blotzer and MaKenna Davis had eight.
 
Linke also led the team with a season-high 31 digs, just two shy of a career-high. Málie McClure was the other Eagle with double-digit digs with 13.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Both teams were even with 50 kills each. Sacramento State hit at a slightly-higher clip than Eastern Washington, committing 19 errors on 160 attempts, while the Eagles swung .140 with 27 errors on 164 tries.
 
Eastern Washington had 12 service aces to SAC's eight, but the Hornets out-blocked the Eagles 15-to-6. EWU edged Sacramento State in digs, 79-to-74, but the Hornets had 46 assists to Eastern's 43.
 
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.