DES MOINES, Iowa – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team closed the Drake Invitational with a 3-1 (20-25, 19-25, 28-26, 20-25) loss to Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 7).
 
As a team, the Eagles totaled 16 services aces which ties for sixth all-time for aces in a four-set match in program history, the most since Nov. 8, 2013 against Southern Utah. Junior MaKenna Davis had five of those aces while leading the team with her second double-double of the season (12k-10d).
 
Eastern Washington found themselves in an 11-3 hole in the first set before using a 4-0 run to come within four points, 11-7. Trailing 17-9 later in the frame, a kill from Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala sparked a 7-1 run for the Eagles who quickly came within two points, 18-16, to cause a Saint Louis timeout.
 
The timeout helped, as SLU rebuilt a 24-18 advantage. Facing set point, Davis hammered down a kill and Ana Paula Zandona served up an ace in an attempt to keep the Eagles alive, but they fell short, dropping the opening set 25-20 to give the Billikens a 1-0 lead.
 
The Eagles struggled to get going in the second set, trailing 17-8 and could never catch the Billikens. They did not go down quietly, however, as they fought off set point five times. Down 24-14, Davis and Ashlyn Blotzer fired off back-to-back kills and then teamed up for a block to bring the score to 24-17. A Billiken error and another kill from Davis put the Eagles within six, but it wasn't enough as they dropped set two 25-19 and fell into a 2-0 hole.
 
Eastern Washington trailed early in the third set, 9-6, but stayed collected. A kill from Blotzer would begin a 9-0 run to give Eastern a comfortable 15-9 lead. The run included all five of Davis's service aces on the day, three of which came consecutively.
 
Saint Louis would answer, using a 6-1 spurt to trail by just one point, 16-15. A late 3-0 run from the Eagles gave them a 22-18 lead before the Billikens caught back up, 22-21.
 
Eastern Washington held set point, 24-22, when the Billikens used a 3-0 run to lead 25-24 and forced an EWU timeout. Eastern held the advantage again, 26-25, when an error give SLU a point back to tie it up. Tied 26-26, Nicoletta Capizzi and Alisha Straw teamed up for the block and Keala hammered down a kill to keep the Eagles alive, claiming the third set 28-26 and moving the match to 2-1.
 
Saint Louis jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the fourth set and held the advantage for the remainder of the frame. The Eagles would use a quick 3-0 spurt that included a kill and two aces from Blotzer to bring the score to 22-19 and forced a Billiken timeout. However, Saint Louis was able to hang on for the 25-20 set four victory and claimed the match 3-1.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 2-4 on the year and ends the Drake Invitational with a record of 1-2. Saint Louis improves to 4-1.
 
This was the first-ever meeting between the two opponents, and Eastern is now 4-2 all-time against teams from the Atlantic 10.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: MaKenna Davis led the team with her second double-double of the weekend with a season-high 12 kills to go with 10 digs. She also led the team with five service aces, marking the second time in her career the junior has had five aces in a match (last: vs. Montana 11/9/18). The five aces ties for seventh all-time in program history for aces in a four-set match.
 
Nicoletta Capizzi also led the Eagles with a new career-high 12 kills. She also swung .435 to pace the Eagles with only two errors on 23 assists while leading the team with three blocks.
 
Puaoolelagi Sao set a season-high 23 digs, her second match collecting over 20 digs this season. Málie McClure had 10 digs.
 
Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala tied her career-high with eight kills and had three service aces. Ashlyn Blotzer collected a career-high four aces.
 
KEY STATISTICS: The Eagles collected 41 kills and committed 26 errors on 135 tries to hit .111 for the match. Saint Louis total 50 kills and 20 errors on 139 attempts to swing .216.
 
Saint Louis also served well, totaling 15 aces to Eastern's 16. They also out-blocked the Eagles 10-to-5 and narrowly edged EWU in digs, 61-to-59.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has a short turnaround, as they will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at Seattle University at 5 p.m.
 
The match will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network with live stats available HERE.