CHENEY, Wash. — There was no quit from Eastern Washington volleyball on Saturday, but it was not enough to get the win. Eastern lost to Idaho State, 3-1 [19-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-27]. The Eagles fall to 4-7 in the conference and 10-13 overall.
Kalista Lukovich poured in a career-high 17 kills on .268 hitting. Bri Gunderson added 11 kills with a .364 attack percentage.
The Bengals came out swinging in the first set and quickly built an 8-3 lead over Eastern. EWU pulled the lead back with a 9-1 stretch to trail 14-13. Idaho St. continued to be efficient in their attacks, hitting .611 in the set and committing only one error. The Bengals pulled away from Eastern and won the set, 25-19 to lead the game.
Moving to the second set, ISU again opened with a big advantage, but did not allow the Eagles to get back in the set. The Bengals held Eastern to a -.054 attack percentage, while hitting .286. EWU dropped the second set, 25-15 and were down 2-0 in the game.
Looking for rhythm on offense, Lukovich stepped up with five kills in the third set. Gunderson added three with a .750 hitting percentage. The score remained tight throughout, but the Eagles were able to put together two rallies with Jannie Blake and Lukovich serving to extend the game. Eastern won the third set, 25-22 and cut the lead to 2-1 in the game.
The fourth set was a battle with both teams trading rallies. The set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes. EWU had a 23-21 lead on a kill from Lukovich and looked to force the fifth set. ISU would tie the game at 23, but a kill from Sage Brustad put the team at set point. The Bengals tied it again, but Tanai Jenkins forced another set point at 25-24 with a kill. ISU then scored three-straight points to win the set, 27-25 and the game 3-1
Eagle Notes
- Kalista Lukovich now has five double-doubles in her freshman season.
- With nine kills against Idaho State, Sage Brustad now has 989 for her career, 11 away from 1000.
- Kate Hatch led the team with 21 assists, giving her 1975 for her career.
- The game had 28 total ties and 18 lead changes.
- Jannie Blake recorded her second career double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs.
- The Bengals' Jamie Streit finished with a game-high 26 kills, hitting .370.
Up Next
Eastern will take its last road trip of the regular season, playing Sacramento State (Nov. 2) and Portland State (Nov. 4) next week.
New for the 2023-24 season, the EWU Women's Sports Pass gives fans access to over 30 Eagle Athletics events, including volleyball, soccer and women's basketball for only $5 per game! Learn more and get yours today at goeags.com/tickets or call 509-359-6056.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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