For the second-straight year, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team has landed in the postseason. The Eagles have earned the No. 7 seed and take on No. 2 Northern Colorado this Thursday, Nov. 18, at 12 p.m. Pacific time in Ogden, Utah.
 
The tournament is hosted by Weber State, with all matches set to be broadcast on ESPN+ with live stats available on BigSkyStats.com. Should the Eagles advance, they will take on either No. 3 Portland State or No. 6 Sacramento State on Friday at 3 p.m. PT. The championship game takes place on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. PT.
 
The top eight teams in the conference have advanced to the championships, and the winner receives the Big Sky's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
For more information on the tournament, including a complete bracket and tickets, click HERE.
 
BIG SKY HISTORY: This is the 22^nd appearance at the Big Sky Tournament for Eastern Washington, who is 18-19 all-time in the postseason. The Eagles have made it to the finals 10 times with a 2-8 record, winning the tournament in 1989 and then again in 2001.
 
In the Big Sky quarterfinals, the Eagles are 5-4. A win would be the first in the tournament since Nov. 28, 2008 when the Eagles swept Weber State in Portland, Ore., in the semifinals. Since then, the Eagles have dropped six straight, including a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Weber State in last season's quarterfinals as the No. 8 seed.
 
Eastern Washington qualified for the tournament consistently from 2001-09. The Eagles then qualified in 2011 and in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016, but then not again until last season.
 
The Eagles and Northern Colorado have faced off twice in the tournament, both coming in the semifinals where EWU is 0-2. The first match came on Nov. 27, 2009 where EWU lost 2-3 at home, and then in 2011 where EWU lost 0-3 in Portland, Ore.
 
Against No. 2 seeds, EWU is 5-5 all-time and they are 0-1 all-time as a No. 7 seed. This is the second appearance under head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington wrapped up the regular season 11-13 overall with a 7-9 mark in Big Sky action, which are the most wins – both overall and in conference play, since the 2016 season and the most under Flores-Cloud.
 
Senior middle blocker Ashlyn Blotzer was just named Second Team All-Big Sky for the second consecutive year after ranking in the top of the conference all season long in hitting percentage. Blotzer ended the regular season ranked second overall in the Big Sky in hitting percentage with a .322 clip.
 
Blotzer also leads the team with .68 blocks per set and averages 2.01 kills per frame.
 
The Eagle offense is led by senior setter Lindsey Russell who ranks sixth in the Big Sky in assists per set with 7.15, totaling 651 on the year to go with five double-doubles. She also has 25 service aces this season to lead the Eagles with .27 per set.
 
Freshman Makenna Collins leads the way with 3.09 digs per set, totaling 238 on the year while adding .31 service aces per set with 24 total.
 
Maya McClellan has garnered 227 kills so far this season, averaging 2.61 per set. Sage Brustad follows with 165 and averages 2.12 kills per set.
 
As a team, the Eagles are second in the Big Sky with 1.80 service aces per set, a mark that is 28^th nationally. They have totaled at least 11 aces in eight matches this year. Eastern Washington hits at a .186 clip with 11.7 kills per set while adding 10.2 assists, 13.4 digs and 1.5 blocks per set.
 
A LOOK AT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado finished the regular season 21-6 overall and 13-3 in Big Sky play, ending the year on a six-match winning streak en route to the regular season title. The Bears boasted three on the All-Big Sky first team in Rachel Hickman, Lauren Strain and Kailey Jo Ince.
 
Northern Colorado ranks first in the conference in assists per set (12.17), hitting percentage (.229), kills per set (13.35) and total kills (1,335). They hold their opponents to just a .179 clip.
 
SERIES HISTORY: It's been less than a week since the Eagles and the Bears last squared off. Eastern Washington hosted Northern Colorado for final regular season match at Reese Court on Friday, Nov. 12 where the Bears earned the sweep.
 
Set one featured 10 ties and five lead changes, and the second had 10 ties as well along with seven lead changes, but EWU dropped both 25-21 before losing the third 25-13. The Eagles hit .228 on the night with 31 kills and 13 errors on 79 total attempts. The Bears hit .395 with 44 kills, 10 errors and 86 total attacks. EWU also lost to UNC on Oct. 16 by a score of 3-0 in Greeley, Colo.
 
Eastern Washington trails the Bears 9-25 in the all-time series and will look to snap an eight-match losing streak that dates back to Nov. 3, 2017.