The season came down to Saturday night (Nov. 19) at Reese Court for Eastern Washington volleyball, and in the end, the Eagles prevailed. Eastern defeated Northern Arizona 3-0 [25-18, 25-17, 25-23]. With the win, the Eagles clinched a spot in the Big Sky Tournament next week in Ogden, Utah. It is the third-straight trip to the Big Sky Tournament for the team. 

"I'm feeling great. This is a lot of work that they all have put in. Then to have it come down to the last match of the season was fitting," head coach Jon Haruguchi said. "I'm excited about this and very proud of the team. They have trained and laid a foundation for the future. It's kind of the goal to get into the tournament every year. This team has been there the past two years and we felt that is where we had to be."

Eastern had three players put up double figures in kills, led by Alyssa Radke's 14. Sadie Bacon delivered 11 and Renata Lopez Morales had 10. Lindsey Russell recorded 35 assists.

"I think that we all wanted it so bad. We didn't want it to come down to the last game, but it did. It was good pressure that we all wanted and needed to show we are a good team," Lindsey Russell said. "I think we reset, and Jon took good timeouts. He does the same in practice with us. I really think that we knew it was hard to come back from three points even. We kept that in mind to try and keep pushing to get the set back."

As the do-or-die game got underway, the Eagles showed their drive, opening with a 9-3 lead. Alyssa Radke fired in two kills and Renata Lopez Morales had back-to-back aces. The lead would grow to 13-6 as Lopez Morales continue to score and Sage Brustad joined the attack with two kills. The balanced offensive from Eastern kept NAU off-balance and they were able to continued adding to the lead. Radke was the engine in the first set, recording seven kills. Eastern earned a 25-18 win in set one and was out in front, 1-0 in the game.

Eastern hit .293 to start out and secure the game lead. The Lumberjacks hit .140 as a team.

The Eagles stayed on the attack in the second set, but NAU was up to the challenge and didn't surrender a quick lead. The teams would exchange scores and find themselves in a 10-10 tie. Brustad and Radke quickly got the lead back for Eastern with kills following each other. Sadie Bacon that jumped into the action firing in a pair of kills to extend the Eagles' lead. NAU did not disappear, and they pulled the score to 17-14. Brustad would have the hot hand down the stretching, dropping in two kills to push Eastern to a 25-17 win in the second set and a 2-0 advantage in the game.

The offense for the Eagles was electric in the second set as they hit .440, while holding the Lumberjacks to .138.

With the game in favor of 2-0 Eastern, NAU went right at the Eagles to try and extend the game. The 'Jacks went on a 5-0 run after the score was tied at five to separate from Eastern. Bacon and Lopez Morales led the charge to pull NAU back to within one at 11-10. The 'Jacks would counter again with a 4-0 spurt and were back in control. Right back came the Eagles, led by Lopez Morales who tallied a kill and a block assist to keep the score competitive. After trailing by three, Eastern rallied to tie the set up at 17. The 'Jacks kept getting ahead but could not get any breathing room from the Eagles. Tied at 19, Eastern made its move, scoring two straight points on a kill from Bacon and an ace from Leah McAdams. Bacon was key in the clutch, scoring another kill and an ace to hold the lead for the Eagles. Eastern won the third set, 25-23 behind a .306 hitting percentage. NAU hit .162 in the final set.

Eastern Washington had one of its best hitting nights this season, finishing with a .333 percentage. Northern Arizona was held to .147 hitting. 

The Eagles celebrated senior day, as Lindsey Russell, McKenna Russell, Renata Lopez Morales, Leah McAdams and Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala were honored pre-game.

Key Statistics
Eastern racked up 51 digs to the 'Jacks 41. Makenna Collins had a game-high 14, with Morgan Blazzard adding 12. Sage Brustad finished with 10.

The game saw 12 ties and six lead changes, with eight ties in the third set.

Eastern cut down on its attack errors, committing only 11 on Saturday night.

Alyssa Radke's 14 kills came on 25 swings, with only four errors for a .400 attack percentage.

Renata Lopez Morales added four block assists in the game.

Up Next
With their ticket punched, Eastern Washington will travel next week to Ogden, Utah to play in the Big Sky Tournament from Wednesday, Nov. 23 to Saturday, Nov. 26. The Eagles are the seventh seed and will play the second seed, Portland State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Pacific Time.