PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team battled San Diego State in four sets, but fell 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 26-28, 21-25) on the second day of the GCU Invitational (Sept. 14).
 
Freshman Málie McClure led the Eagles with a career-high 14 kills, followed by Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala who had 10 kills, also a career-high. Additionally, Puaoolelagi Sao garnered a career-high 31 digs.
 
"We controlled our side very well. We made them earn their own points and now we need to go out and perfect that," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "We are young and we will continue to grow."
 
Eastern's first 10 points in the opening set came from kills, four of which belonged to Nicoletta Capizzi. With the match tied 10-10, San Diego State was the first to pull ahead as they outscored Eastern 15-6 down the stretch to take set one 25-16.
 
SDSU's momentum carried into the second set as they used an 8-1 run to lead 11-4. The Aztecs then committed three-straight errors and McClure came up with a kill to cut their deficit to just four points, 12-8.
 
The Eagles chipped away at their deficit and used a 5-1 run later in the set that was highlighted by two kills from McClure to come back within three points, 19-16.
 
San Diego State pulled back ahead 21-16 when the Eagles stormed back. Ana Paula Zandona and Ashlyn Blotzer used a block and it sparked a 9-1 scoring run that led Eastern Washington to a 25-22 set two victory to even the match. McClure had five kills in the second set and Keala delivered back-to-back kills at the end of the second frame to seal it for Eastern.
 
The third set was as close as they come. Eastern Washington used a 5-2 run to open the third set and took a 7-5 lead. After San Diego State responded with four-straight points to lead 9-7, the Eagles answered back with a 4-0 run to take an 11-9 lead. San Diego State called timeout and then evened the score, 11-11.
 
From there, the sides would go point-for-point with neither team able to break away and lead by more than a point. With the set tied 20-20, the Aztecs broke away first to take a 22-20 lead and forced an EWU timeout. Out of the break, Capizzi hammered down a kill and then teamed up with MaKenna Davis for a block and then with Zandona for a block as Eastern used a 3-0 run to retake a 23-22 lead.
 
A kill from Alisha Straw gave Eastern set point, 24-23, when SDSU responded to take a 25-24 lead. McClure retied the set with a kill and the teams continued to exchange set point. After another kill from McClure evened things 26-26, the Aztecs got the last say with two-straight points to claim set three 28-26 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair just like set three. With the score tied 7-7, Eastern Washington jumped ahead 11-8 following a 4-1 run. The Aztecs responded immediately with a 4-0 run to take a 12-11 lead and caused an Eastern Washington timeout.
 
The set eventually evened itself out, 14-14, when Eastern Washington used a 3-1 run to lead 17-15. The run was capped by Zandona's fourth service ace. SDSU then fired off six-straight points to take a four-point lead, 22-18. Consecutive kills from Capizzi and McClure put the Eagles back within two points, 23-21, as EWU refused to go away quietly. However, the Aztecs delivered back-to-back kills to edge Eastern 25-21 and take the match 3-1.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington drops to 2-7 on the season following the loss while San Diego State improves to 6-2. EWU now trails the all-time series, 4-0.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Málie McClure paced the Eagles with a career-high 14 kills. She only committed three errors on 30 attempts to swing .367 on the day. She was also two digs short of her first career double-double, garnering eight.
 
Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala turned in a career-high 10 kills to go with three blocks. Nicoletta Capizzi followed closely with nine kills and swung .286 (9k-3e-21ta). Ashlyn Blotzer led the Eagles with a career-high five blocks and had eight kills.
 
Puaoolelagi Sao led Eastern Washington with a career-best 31 digs for her second career match with 30 or more digs. Ana Paula Zandona led the team with 40 assists and four service aces.
 
Six different Eagles recorded at least one block as EWU had a season-high eight blocks as a team.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington hit .151 with 47 kills and 24 errors on 152 attempts. San Diego State hit at a .224 clip with 60 kills and 24 errors on 161 attempts.
 
Eastern Washington was out-blocked 11-to-8 and had four service aces to SDSU's five.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington concludes play at the GCU Invitational tonight (Sept. 14) at 4:30 p.m. against UC Riverside. The match will not be streamed, but live stats are available at EWUStats.com.