SEATTLE, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team took on in-state opponent Seattle University in a rare midweek matchup on Tuesday night (Sept. 10). The Eagles battled hard in all three sets, but unfortunately fell 3-0 (17-25, 22-25, 25-27).
 
"We had two people play in their first Division I volleyball match tonight in Hailee Etter and Renata Lopez Morales, and I thought they did some really good things. Renata was our best pin today," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "Our game was led by our hot-hitter Ashlyn Blotzer, she did some great things and was very active. She promised the team before the game that she was going to be more vocal in calling her sets and I thought she did a lovely job with that tonight. I think we're really hungry to keep playing and we're excited to head to the Grand Canyon Invitational this weekend and are looking to get better one day at a time."
 
Seattle U jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the opening set and the Eagles had to play catch-up from there. Down 18-12, Eastern Washington strung together three-straight points that included two kills from MaKenna Davis and one from Nicoletta Capizzi to put the Eagles back within reach, 18-15. However, the Redhawks would outscore the Eagles 7-2 down the stretch to claim set one, 25-17, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
It was Eastern Washington who jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the second set. A kill from Ashlyn Blotzer kept EWU's advantage 10-7 when the Redhawks responded with a 3-0 run to tie it 10-all. A 5-0 run just a few points later gave Seattle U a 15-12 lead. Eastern continued to battle but found themselves down 20-18 when consecutive kills from Blotzer and Davis tied the set, 20-20. It was Seattle U who broke away, leading 24-21. Although an SU error fought off set point for the Eagles, they dropped the second set 25-22 and in to a 2-0 deficit in the match.
 
Eastern Washington held a slight 5-4 lead in the third set when Seattle U exploded on a 13-1 run that gave them a comfortable 17-6 lead. The set looked all but over, as the lead eventually grew to 19-9. A Seattle U service error then sparked a quick 4-0 run for the Eagles who stayed alive by cutting their deficit to six points, 19-13.
 
The Eagles kept pushing, using a 4-1 run to cut the lead to just four points. Seattle U reached set point first, taking a 24-19 lead when the Eagles fought off set point six times to take a 25-24 lead. The 6-0 run was started by a kill from Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala.
 
Seattle U tied the set up 25-25 and were able to hold the Eagles off with back-to-back kills to narrowly take the third set 27-25 and the match 3-0.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles drop their third-straight and move to 2-5 on the season while Seattle improves to 5-2.
 
This was the ninth all-time meeting between the two foes and the first since 2015. The Redhawks now hold a 7-2 advantage and are 2-1 over the Eagles on their own home floor.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Ashlyn Blotzer led the Eagles with a career-high 12 kills. In addition to hitting .400 on the night (12k-4e-20ta), she also had a service ace and a block.
 
Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala followed with seven kills and also led the team with two service aces. She had a near double-double as she collected seven digs.
 
ShaRae Niu and Ana Paula Zandona split setter duties tonight and each led the team with 13 assists.
 
MaKenna Davis and Nicoletta Capizzi each led the Eagles with two blocks.
 
Renata Lopez-Morales and Hailee Etter made their Eagle debuts tonight. Lopez Morales had three kills, an assist, a block and two digs. Etter had a kill and five digs.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington hit .150 with 34 kills and 18 errors on 107 attempts. Seattle swung .275 with 41 kills and 13 errors on 102 tries.
 
Eastern Washington was out-blocked 7-to-4 and the Redhawks had seven service aces to EWU's four. Seattle U also collected 47 digs and 35 assists while the Eagles had 38 digs and 32 assists.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles return to action on Friday, Sept. 13, at the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. Eastern Washington opens against the hosts Grand Canyon on Friday before matches against San Diego State and UC Riverside close play the following day.
 
Only Eastern's match against Grand Canyon will be streamed live on YouTube HERE, but live stats for all three matches can be found on EWUStats.com.