MATCH NOTES

CHENEY, Wash. – The final week of the regular season has arrived for the Eastern Washington University volleyball team. The Eagles travel to take on Northern Arizona on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time before playing at Southern Utah on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 12 p.m. PT.
 
HOW TO WATCH: Both matches will be streamed for free on WatchBigSky.com, with Thursday's contest on Pluto TV Ch. 539 and Saturday's on channel 536. Live stats can be found on EWUStats.com for both matches.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is 6-22 overall with a 4-12 record in Big Sky Conference play. After losses at Idaho (3-1) and to Northern Colorado (3-0) last week, they are currently tied with Idaho State for 12^th in the conference standings.
 
Two spots remain for the 2019 Big Sky Conference Tournament and all five teams who haven't clinched are still fighting for a spot. Eastern Washington will need to win both games this weekend to stay in the hunt for a spot.
 
The Eagles are currently two games back from Southern Utah (6-10) and Portland State (6-11) and one game behind Montana (5-11). They are tied with Idaho State, but would take the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bengals.
 
Ashlyn Blotzer leads the Eagles offensively with 2.12 kills per set while swinging at a .203 clip. She also leads the Eagles in total blocks with 67 and blocks per set with .63.
 
MaKenna Davis is close behind with 2.0 blocks per set and also has 27 total service aces on the season, good for .30 per set. Nicoletta Capizzi leads the team in hitting percentage, swinging .216 on the season with 1.85 kills per set and also averages .58 blocks per set.
 
Catelyn Linke ranks third in the conference and 89^th in the nation with 4.51 digs per set, totaling 325 this season. She is just 97 digs away from becoming the ninth player in program history to collect 1,000 career digs.
 
With 751 career digs, and 343 this season, Puaoolelagi Sao is 249 digs away from 1,000 career digs.
 
Ana Paula Zandona has dished out 823 total assists this season and ranks ninth in the conference with 7.99 per set.
 
As a team, Eastern hits at a .136 clip with 10.81 kills, 9.98 assists, 1.25 service aces, 15.25 digs and 1.45 blocks per set.
A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is cruising along on a four-match winning streak, beating both Montana and Montana State in five sets last week. They are fighting for a second or third place spot in the regular season standings along with Weber State, sitting at 18-10 overall and 11-5 in conference play. At home this season in Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks are 9-1 overall.
 
NAU is swinging at a .232 clip with 12.38 kills per set. They limit their opponents to just a .178 percentage and are second in the conference with 1.59 aces per set and third in digs per set with 16.50.
 
The Lumberjacks boast the conference leader in hitting percentage in Abby Akin who swings .404. She is also second in the conference with 1.22 blocks per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 37-30. EWU beat the Lumberjacks in 2016 and 2017, but have since lost two straight.
 
The Eagles have only won three out of the last 10 matchups and have only won two matches in Flagstaff since Nov. 1, 2012. At Northern Arizona, Eastern Washington does hold the 16-14 advantage.
 
This season, Eastern played the Lumberjacks in Cheney on Oct. 19 and fell 3-1. Eastern hit .151 on the night and were led in kills by MaKenna Davis with 12.
 
A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah currently sits alone in seventh place in the conference standings with a 13-15 overall record and a 6-10 mark in Big Sky play.
 
They are currently on a three-match losing skid after being swept by both Sacramento State and Montana State and losing in four sets to Montana. The Thunderbirds will host Idaho (13-15, 9-7) on Thursday before taking on the Eagles.
 
Southern Utah is fifth in the BSC in hitting percentage with a .215 clip, but allow their opponents to swing .229. They average 12.27 kills per set and 1.45 service aces per set.
 
Katie Montgomery paces SUU with a .323 hitting percentage while Shannon Webb ranks third in the conference with 3.70 kills per set. Corrin Peterson ranks third in the Big Sky in assists (10.22) and fifth in service aces (.35).
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington is 7-4 all-time against the Thunderbirds. EWU holds a one-game winning streak over Southern Utah after Eastern picked up a thrilling five set victory over the Thunderbirds on Oct. 17 in Cheney which snapped a 24-game conference losing streak.
 
In Cedar City, Eastern holds a 3-2 advantage but have lost two straight. They are looking for their first win against the Thunderbirds on the road since Oct. 1, 2015.

UP NEXT: The Eagles will await their fate for a postseason berth based on their own results and results around the league. The 2019 Big Sky Conference Tournament is being hosted by Sacramento State in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 28-30. Eastern Washington is looking for its first tournament bid since 2016.