The Eastern Washington University volleyball team concluded its final regular season road trip of the year, traveling to Montana State in Bozeman, Mont., this afternoon (Nov. 6). The Eagles won the first set, but lost the next three as the Bobcats claimed the win, 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 19-25).
 
"We jumped out in set one and did some really great things. It showed me how good we can be, now our team needs to learn how to maintain that," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "I want to mention that Noa Torio and McKenna Russell served tough for us, Ashlyn Blotzer blocked well and Katie Fleck hit well."
 
Lindsey Russell turned in her fifth double-double of Big Sky Conference play with 32 assists and 13 digs.
 
The Eagles led for the majority of the first set, totaling 17 kills on 34 tries to hit .294 for their best percentage of the match. The teams were locked at 11-11 when Eastern Washington pulled away on a 3-0 run thanks to two service aces from Torio, and they never trailed from there. After the Eagles built a 22-16 advantage, MSU cut the lead to 22-19. Eastern found set point, 24-19, after consecutive kills from McKenna Russell and Katie Fleck, but the Bobcats fought it off twice. However, Fleck was there with the game-winner and EWU went up 1-0 with a 25-21 win.
 
The second set was closely contested, and neither side led by more than two points until midway through. The Eagles were up 15-13 when the Bobcats strung together a 9-2 run to lead 22-17. Eastern was then back within two points following a 4-1 run to bring the score to 23-21 in favor of the Bobcats, but MSU found the final two points to win 25-21 and even the match.
 
A 9-1 Bobcat run in the third set gave MSU a 14-7 lead. EWU would stay steady and chipped away, coming as close as three points with a 4-0 run to trail 16-13. However, MSU held the momentum with another 6-1 spurt that grow the lead to 22-14. Down 24-15, EWU refused to back down, fighting off set point three times thanks to a kill from Ehu Keala and one from Maya McClellan. Montana State would hang on, though, winning 25-18.
 
Much like the previous three sets, the teams were even in the early goings and were locked at 6-6. That's when the Bobcat momentum swung, picking up seven-straight points for the 13-6 lead. The lead would eventually stretch to 20-11 and then to 24-15 when the Eagles tried to claw back once again. A 4-0 run that included both a kill and an ace from McKenna Russell would once again fight off set point, but the Bobcats ended things with a decisive kill to win 25-19 and take the match 3-1.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles are now 10-12 overall with a 6-8 mark in Big Sky Conference play. The Bobcats improve to 13-12 and 9-5.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Katie Fleck led the way with a season-high 13 kills and committed five errors on 30 attempts to hit .267.
 
Lindsey Russell earned another double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs. Makenna Collins also had 13 digs.
 
Noa Torio (4) and McKenna Russell (3) led the team in aces. Ashlyn Blotzer finished with seven kills and a team-high four block assists.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington had eight aces to MSU's three and out-blocked the Bobcats, 7-to-4. They were just edged in digs (56-49) and assists (60-42).
 
EWU hit .179 with 47 kills on 134 attempts and 23 errors. The Bobcats swung .296 with 64 kills and 19 errors on 152 total attempts.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington closes the regular season at home in a unique Tuesday and Friday match format. First, EWU looks for its third-straight win over the Idaho Vandals on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. at Reese Court. Then, it's on to Senior Night against Northern Colorado on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. Prior to the match, Eastern will honor four seniors in Ashlyn Blotzer, Maya McClellan, Lindsey Russell and McKenna Russell. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.