PORTLAND, Ore. — In the final regular season road game of the season, Eastern Washington volleyball met Portland State on the court. The Vikings defeated the Eagles, 3-0, with a strong offensive effort. With the loss, Eastern falls to 4-9 in the Big Sky and 10-15 this season.
Sage Brustad led EWU with nine kills and Bri Gunderson had eight in the game. In the first set, Brustad recorded her 1000 career kill and has 1006 total after tonight.
"I want to acknowledge Sage Brustad and the work she's put in over the years by congratulating her for hitting such a milestone. I'm so happy for her," head coach Jon Haruguchi said. "Unfortunately tonight we couldn't put it together to come out with a win, but I don't want our outcome to diminish what she's accomplished. We'll get back after it on Monday and prepare for another couple of tough matches."
The swings were coming fast and furious in the first set, with both teams hitting for high marks. Portland St. had a lights-out .481 attack percentage, while the Eagles fired off a .375 percentage in the set. Eastern had a 15-11 lead following a kill from Gunderson. The Vikings then went into overdrive, ripping off a 14-2 run that handed them the set one win, 25-17.
EWU had the lead early again, but the Vikings pushed ahead midway through the set. The offense for the Vikings stepped up with 17 kills on 37 total attacks. Eastern stayed close, but could not reclaim the lead from PSU. The Vikings won the set, 25-22 and were up 2-0 in the game.
Similar to the first two sets, the third was a close battle between the two teams. The score was tied at 11 following a Viking service error. PSU then went ahead with two-straight points. With the advantage, the Vikings continued to stay just enough ahead of the Eagles. A 25-21 set win earned PSU the sweep over Eastern.
Eagle Notes
- Sage Brustad is the 11th player in Eastern Washington history to earn 1000 career kills.
- With 10 assists in the game, Kate Hatch now has 1998 for her collegiate career.
- Makenna Collins led the team with 10 digs and now has 983 in her career.
- The Eagles out-blocked the Vikings, 7.0 to 5.0. Eastern was led by Bri Gunderson who had six total blocks, with one solo and five assists.
Up Next
Eastern Washington will begin its final homestand of the season next week, starting with Northern Arizona on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. The Eagles then host Northern Colorado on Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.
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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