DES MOINES, Iowa – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team was swept by Drake today (Sept. 6) in the second match of the Drake Invitational. The Eagles battled in all three sets, but fell 25-15, 25-22 and 25-21 to end a two-match winning streak.
 
"We were really tired today after playing a five-set match earlier, and it showed. Nicoletta Capizzi showed up for us, she hit well and was really terminal on the slide which helped us out," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "MaKenna Davis served well and our sideout percentage improved each set which is exciting as a team. Puaoolelagi Sao was very consistent all night, leading us in digs. We're looking forward to getting some rest and playing again tomorrow. We have done well rising to the occasion, now it's just learning how to prepare ourselves to be there at every match."
 
After the Eagles fell behind 10-5 in the opening set, they used a 5-1 run that was sparked by a kill from Nicoletta Capizzi to come within one point, 11-10. Capizzi would end the day with a new career-high of 10 kills to lead the Eagles.
 
Once the Bulldogs pulled back ahead 12-10, Eastern used a 3-0 run that included a service ace from Ana Paula Zandona and blocks from MaKenna Davis and Ashlyn Blotzer to take its first lead of the match, 13-12, and forced a Drake timeout.
 
Unfortunately, the lead didn't last for long as the Bulldogs outscored Eastern 10-1 down the stretch to lead 22-14 and eventually took the first set, 25-15, to take the 1-0 lead.
 
Both sides traded points early in the second frame, and with the set tied 7-7, it was Drake who pulled away on a 5-0 run to take the 12-7 lead and force an EWU timeout.
 
Eastern trailed for the majority of the set and found themselves down 23-15 when the offense was sparked by Capizzi. A 4-0 run by the Eagles put them within four points, 23-19.
 
Drake reached set point, but couldn't put the Eagles away. A late 3-0 push put EWU back within three points, 24-22, and forced a Bulldog timeout. Out of the break, Drake hammered down a kill and edged the Eagles 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead.
 
A 5-0 Drake run helped them lead 9-3 in the crucial third set and caused an early Eastern Washington timeout. The break worked, as the Eagles then outscored the Bulldogs 9-2 and took a 12-11 lead.
 
The lead was short lived, however, as the Bulldogs responded with six-straight points to lead 17-12. The Eagles could never quite get their footing back and found themselves down 24-20 while facing set point. Capizzi hammered down one last attempt to fuel the offense, but the Eagles dropped the third and final set 25-21.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles snap a two-match winning streak with the loss, dropping to 2-3 on the year. Drake improves to 3-1 overall.
 
This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs and Eastern is now 5-4 all-time against schools from the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Freshman Nicoletta Capizzi lead the team with 10 kills and swung .500 with only two errors on 16 attempts.
 
Three Eagles reached double-digit digs, led by Puaoolelagi Sao who had 17 to go with two service aces. Ana Paula Zandona also had two aces while leading the way with 28 assists.
 
Ashlyn Blotzer had three blocks.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington swung .062 with 30 kills and 23 errors on 113 attempts while Drake hit .196 with 36 kills and 15 errors on 107 attempts.
 
Both teams were even with 49 digs a piece and Eastern had more service aces (5) than Drake did (3). The Bulldogs had five blocks to Eastern's three.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles close the Drake Invitational tomorrow with a match against Saint Louis at 12 p.m. Pacific time.
 
The match won't be streamed, but live stats will be available via the link HERE.
 
MORE COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH FLORES-CLOUD:
 
On coaching against her former team, Drake, where she served as an assistant and associate head coach for five seasons before taking over the helm at Eastern Washington:
 
"It was really, really exciting to have our team out there against a lot of girls that I recruited. There was a lot of talent out of there, it's a really good Drake team, and I hope we'll get the chance to face them again because I think we can match up really well."