BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — In the final day of the CSU Bakersfield tournament, Eastern Washington volleyball defeated Providence, 3-1 on Saturday morning. Eastern closed the weekend strong offensive performance for the team's first win of the 2023 season and is 1-2 overall.

"I'm very pleased with how we finished this weekend's matches. I felt we improved each time we stepped onto the floor and we are continuing to learn how to play with, and for each other," head coach Jon Haruguchi said. "Our staff keeps pressing that this is a process and that the road to success is not a straight line. The team rebounded well after two tough matches yesterday and I'm very proud of them for that. We have a lot of work to do and we'll get back to the gym Monday and get after it."

Eastern was effective from the service line, racking up 13 aces from five different players. Kate Hatch was the top server with four aces followed by Sage Brustad's three.

Brustad tallied a game-high 16 kills, hitting an efficient .342 on 38 total attacks. Kalista Lukovich posted double digit kills for the second-straight game with 13 with a .333 attack percentage. 

The Eagles flew out of the gate, hitting a blistering .464 in the first set on the way to a 25-12 win. Eastern had six different players record kills in the set, led by Lukovic with four. 

Moving to the second set, the Eagles stayed hot on offense, snapping off a .375 hitting percentage. Eastern won the second set, 25-18, getting five kills from Brustad.

The Friars rebounded in the third set to win 25-23, holding off a late rally from the Eagles. It was still a 2-1 advantage for Eastern in the game. 

In the fourth set, the Eagles clamped down to close out Providence with a 25-15 set win. Brustad went for four kills and two service aces. Sadie Bacon added four of her eight kills in the final set.

Eagle Notes

• Sadie Bacon was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 19 kills and hitting .255 in 12 sets played. Bacon was a force at the net, totaling 12 blocks with one solo and 11 assists. 
• Eastern finished with 54 kills and only six errors on 134 total attacks. 
• Sage Brustad recorded her second double-double of the season with 16 digs. 
• Kate Hatch notched her first double-double as an Eagle, getting 31 assists and 17 digs. 
• Makenna Collins had a game-high 20 digs, giving her four career 20-plus dig games. Collins also earned her first career double-double with a career-best 10 assists. 
• The Eagles had a nine to zero advantage in blocks. Bacon had five block assists and one solo, while Erin McInnes had five block assists. 

Up Next
Eastern Washington hosts its home tournament next weekend (Sept. 1-2) with three games at Reese Court. The Eagles will play Seattle at 12 p.m. and Nevada and 7 p.m. on Friday, closing out with Pacific on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
 

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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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