GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team ended the UND Classic and non-conference play with a three-set loss (14-25, 21-25, 18-25) to Akron today (Sept. 20).
"
Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala and
Ashlyn Blotzer held our offense and had some really nice blocks to help us slow down Akron's offense.
Leah McAdams was able to step in and help us block as well as
Nicoletta Capizzi. I would say blocking was our high-point of the day," said head coach
Leslie Flores-Cloud. "Our team is beyond anxious to be home and play. We are excited to have Sacramento State and Portland State at home this weekend, especially with all of the festivities going on and school starting back up. We're really excited to be back in Cheney."
Eastern opened the first set with a 25-14 loss after the Zips used a 10-1 run to lead 20-10 and continued to pull away from there.
Down 7-4 in the second set, Eastern Washington worked to even the score 8-8 after a
ShaRae Niu and
Nicoletta Capizzi block. The Zips pulled back ahead 15-9, but a kill from
Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala capped a 3-0 EWU run that put the Eagles within striking distance, 15-12. Down 23-19, Keala and
Hailee Etter came up with consecutive kills to threaten the Zips and forced a timeout. However, the Zips were able to hang on and edged Eastern Washing 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Eagles trailed 11-6 in the third set and called a timeout, only to have the Zips continue to pull ahead and lead 21-10 late in the third set. From there, a kill by Keala sparked a 4-0 run for the Eagles to make the score 21-14. Another 3-0 spurt put Eastern within six, 23-17. From there, the Zips score two of the last three points to take set three 25-18 and the match 3-0.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala was named to the UND Classic All-Tournament team. The freshman led the team in kills in both matches, including a career-high 15 at North Dakota. She had 24 kills on the weekend, averaging 3.0 per set. Additionally, she had six total blocks to average .75 per set and also had two service aces.
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 2-10 on the season while Akron improves to 6-4. The series record is now even at 1-1.
TOP PERFORMANCES: Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala led the Eagles in kills for the second-straight match, totaling nine this morning. The freshman also hit .208 with only four errors on 24 attempts in addition to two solo blocks.
Hailee Etter followed with five kills, a service ace and eight digs.
ShaRae Niu led the team with 10 assists followed by
Ana Paula Zandona who had eight.
Puaoolelagi Sao led the team with 12 digs while
Nicoletta Capizzi had four blocks.
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington hit .057 with 24 kills and 19 errors on 88 attempts. Akron struck at a .243 clip with 43 kills and 18 errors on 103 attempts.
The Eagles were able to out-block Akron, 7-to-3, and were just edged in digs, 39-to-42. Eastern Washington had one ace to Akron's five.
UP NEXT: The Eagles will fly back to Cheney and set their sights on Big Sky Conference play. Eastern Washington plays at home for the first time this season on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 6:05 p.m. against Sacramento State.
The following day (Sept. 27), the Eagles welcome Portland State to town for a 7:05 p.m. matchup on Alumni Night.
All home matches at Reese Court are complimentary to the general public and students. For those unable to make it out, all matches will be streamed for free on Pluto TV Ch. 534 or on WatchBigSky. Live stats are available on EWUStats.com.
