CHENEY, Wash. — In the second-to-last game of the regular season, Eastern Washington faced the defending Big Sky Champion Northern Colorado Bears. Eastern lost the game to UNC, 3-1 after its offense could not avoid attack errors. The Eagles are now 5-10 in the Big Sky and 11-16 overall this season.
The team was led by Sage Brustad, who had a game-high 13 kills on 41 total attacks. Bri Gunderson followed with 10 kills on 22 total attacks.
"We were playing a really tough team and we had to do a few things better. We were high-error today so we can go back and work on those things to get better," head coach Jon Haruguchi said. "I'm proud we fought back in the third set. We cut down our errors, but we had more in the fourth set so it made it tougher. Decreasing errors and especially unforced errors is where we can make up the most ground. You've seen throughout our league there is a lot of parity in this league. Any team can upset another at any given time. It's going to be a lot of fun in the tournament."
Eastern started the game well, opening up with a 5-1 lead behind a kill and a block from Gunderson. UNC countered and tied the set up and the teams settled into a back-and-forth contest. The Eagles stayed ahead of the Bears, building a slim lead at 17-14. EWU would get to set point against UNC at 24-22, but the Bears ripped four-straight points to take the set. With a 26-24 set-one win, UNC had a 1-0 lead over Eastern in the game.
The second set started close, with the teams tying at five. After EWU took the lead, the Bears went on a 4-0 run to jump ahead in the set. UNC continued to hold its advantage as the set went on, extending the lead out to 21-14. The Eagles made a late push with a 4-0 run, as Kate Hatch dropped in a kill and joined up with Gunderson for a block. The Bears held off the Eastern advance and won the set 25-19 and had a 2-0 lead in the game.
Now in the third set, the intensity picked up and the teams traded runs to try and separate from each other. After trailing by one at 12-11, EWU scored three-straight to take the lead. UNC responded with a 7-1 run that put them in control of the set. The Eagles stayed focused and continued to chip away at the Bear lead. UNC's advantage was trimmed down to 19-18, before they stopped the run with a point. Both teams swung aggressively and neither team could separate by more than two down the stretch. The Bears had a match point at 24-23, but could not convert. EWU closed with a 3-0 burst that gave them a 26-24 set win and extended the game to a fourth set.
With the game extended, Eastern looked to continue the momentum they built from the third. The close-score trend continued, as neither team could separate by more than four. Brustad accounted for five kills on .333 hitting, trying to force a fifth set. UNC built a 19-15 lead before two-straight Eagle points cut the lead down. EWU pulled within one of the Bears at 21-20, but could not push ahead. UNC closed out the game with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
"We're doing some good things with our program, but we just have to be more consistent," Haruguchi added. "I'm proud of Makenna Collins getting 1000 digs; that's incredible. Kate Hatch getting 2000 assists last game is a great accomplishment."
Eag Notes
- The game featured 36 ties and 21 lead changes. The third set saw 13 ties and nine lead changes.
- Makenna Collins was seven digs shy of 1000 for her career and she reached the milestone in the fourth set.
- Kate Hatch recorded 14 assists and had 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
- Sage Brustad nearly had her 14th double-double of the season, finishing with nine digs.
- Eastern had a 14.0 to 8.0 advantage in blocking. Brig Gunderson led the team with seven total, getting three solo and four assists.
- The Eagles had 31 attack errors in the game with 46 kills. UNC had 49 kills and 27 errors.
Up Next
Eastern Washington plays its final regular season game before the Big Sky Tournament next Friday (Nov. 17) against Idaho, with first serve at 6 p.m. The game will be senior night and Eastern will honor Sage Brustad pregame.
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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