The Eastern Washington University volleyball team traveled to Missoula, Mont., tonight (Nov. 4) to take on the University of Montana where they lost in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-11).

"We can do a better job all the way around on Saturday. I do want to give kudos to Ehu Keala who jumped in and hit well for us after coming back to play, she did phenomenal. McKenna Russell did a nice job as well," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "We need to sideout at a higher percentage and we'll work the kinks out on that. Being on the road is tough, and that was a good Griz team that came to play."
 
Montana jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead that built to 9-3 in the first set. The Eagles continued chipping away, using a 4-0 run that consisted of two kills from Maya McClellan and one from McKenna Russell plus an ace by Noa Torio to tie the set 12-12. After Montana pulled back ahead 14-12, EWU fired off another 4-0 run to take their first lead of the set, 16-14. The teams would move into an 18-18 before the Grizzlies pulled ahead 20-18, forcing an Eastern Washington timeout. Out of the break, Montana outscored the Eagles 5-2 and took the opening set, 25-20.
 
Knotted up at 5-5 early, Montana was the first team to pull ahead and slowly built a 15-11 lead in set number two. The Eagles came within two points, 15-13, before the Grizzlies used a 4-0 run for the 19-13 advantage. Eastern Washington began to storm back, as a 3-0 run that included a kill from Ehu Keala and an ace from Makenna Collins cut the lead to 19-16 and forced a Griz timeout. Two kills from Keala once again would keep the Eagles alive, but Montana found momentum with a 5-1 run to win 25-19 and take the 2-0 lead.  
 
The Grizzlies used a 6-0 run to lead 10-3 early and never looked back, closing the frame on a 5-0 run to down the Eagles 25-11 in the third and final set.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 10-11 on the year and 6-7 in Big Sky Conference play while Montana improves to 10-13 and 5-8, snapping its four-match skid against Eastern. The two teams split the season series, 1-1, each picking up a win on their own home floor.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: McKenna Russell led the Eagles in kills with seven, only committing three errors on 17 total attempts to hit .235. Maya McClellan followed with six kills and also led the team with two aces.
 
Lindsey Russell led the way with 15 assists and Makenna Collins had 12 digs.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington was held to a .000 hitting percentage with 24 kills and 24 errors on 99 total attempts. Montana hit .227 with 33 kills and 13 errors on 88 total attempts.
 
Montana also edged EWU in aces (7-5), blocks (6-2), digs (34-34) and assists (30-23).
 
UP NEXT: The final regular season road match of the year takes place on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Montana State. First serve in Bozeman, Mont., is set for 11 a.m. Pacific time on ESPN+.