Box Score The Eastern Washington University volleyball team's four-match, six-day, road trip to the state of Texas ended on a high note this evening (Sept. 6). The Eagles took on Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, Texas, and dominated in a 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-13) win.
 
"I thought we came in focused and ready to go. We did a nice job from the service line. Offensively, we worked out some things that we've been wanting to, so I'm proud of our setters and our hitters," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala played amazing today. She did a great job setting a good block for us, and her and Lindsey Russell were on the same page today, and Ehu blossomed from that. I also thought that Makenna Collins served spectacular. It was an all-around team effort thanks to our power of the unit."
 
The Eagles got out to a fast start in the opening set with a 4-0 early run to lead 5-2. Up 7-5, Eastern Washington rattled off an 8-0 run to pull ahead with a dominate 15-5 lead. The run was highlighted by Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala who had two service aces and two kills during the stretch. Another 5-0 run later in the set helped EWU lead 21-7 and they would go on to seal the set one victory 25-9 to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Much like the first set, the Eagles jumped out to a 5-2 lead thanks to early kills from Keala. Eastern Washington continued to pour it on, using a 6-0 run to pull ahead 11-3. This time the run was highlighted by two kills from Leah McAdams.
 
A service ace by Noa Torio later in the set capped a quick 3-0 run by Eastern for its largest lead of the set, 17-7. PVAMU then threatened with its largest run of the set of five-straight points to cut the deficit to 17-12. The run wouldn't last, however, and Eastern Washington held strong, closing the set on an 8-3 run to win 25-15 for a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In set three, it was the Panthers who pulled ahead 3-0 and held a 6-4 lead until the Eagles found their footing with a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the set, 8-6. A 7-0 run that was highlighted by four-straight service aces from Makenna Collins gave EWU a 15-8 lead. The Panthers weren't done, as they found three-straight points to cut Eastern's lead to 16-11.
 
Up 17-13, the Eagles put the set away by closing on an 8-0 scoring run to win 25-13.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington pulls even at 3-3 overall after today's win and caps its Texas road trip 2-2. The Panthers fall to 0-8 on the year, losing all eight matches by scores of 3-0.
 
The Eagles are now 1-2 in three set matches.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala led the way with a season-high 11 kills. She hit .556 on the night with just one error on 18 attempts. She also had two service aces and seven digs. Sage Brustad (8) and McKenna Russell (7) followed offensively, hitting .261 and .417, respectively.
 
Eastern had 11 service aces on the night, four of which came consecutively from Makenna Collins and three came from Noa Torio. Collins also led the way with 13 digs.
 
Lindsey Russell had 20 assists and Brustad led the team with three blocks.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington had a solid afternoon offensively, hitting .392 with 38 kills and only seven errors on 79 total attempts. They held the Panthers to just a .037 clip, with 18 kills and 15 errors on 81 total attempts.
 
The Eagles had 11 service aces and PVAMU had none. EWU out-blocked the Panthers, 3-to-1, and had 44 digs to their 28.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has over a week off before hosting the home non-conference tournament in program history on Sept. 17-18 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles welcome CSU Bakersfield, Montana and Seattle to town, first taking on CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. and Seattle on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.