GREELEY, Colo. — Eastern Washington (12-14, 8-8) was defeated by Northern Colorado (23-6, 14-2) in straight sets after a hard-fought battle in the second and third sets.
"I think we did some nice things today and I loved our fight, especially after the first set," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "We stayed aggressive and kept it close in sets two and three. I think overall this was a positive end to a great year. Now we need to regroup and get ready for tourney play."
The Eagles were led offensively by
Kalista Lukovich and
Quincy Moran, who each recorded eight kills.
Bri Gunderson added seven kills, while defensively,
Kate Hatch and
Jannie Blake each posted seven digs. Gunderson also led in blocks with four.
Eastern showed early promise in the opening set. However, Northern Colorado quickly found their rhythm, pulling ahead to a 13-8 lead, prompting Eastern to call their first timeout. Despite a late surge by the Eagles, who capitalized on Bears' errors to cut the lead to three, UNC remained strong and ultimately took the first set 25-18.
The second set started with a setter dump from
Kate Hatch to give the Eagles an early spark. The Bears responded with a 4-0 run to take a 7-2 lead. The Eagles quickly rallied, stringing together points to pull ahead 9-8, capped by a kill from
Quincy Moran. After a timeout, Eastern extended their lead to 14-10, with Hatch serving up a 4-0 run. Northern Colorado, however, stormed back with a 6-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 16-14. The Eagles didn't back down, battling back to tie it up late. The set remained tight, but UNC eventually edged out a 25-23 win to take a 2-0 match lead.
Set three was a thrilling back-and-forth battle, with six ties and multiple lead changes. The Eagles led early, but the Bears quickly countered. Gunderson kept Eastern within striking distance with key plays, pulling the Eagles within one point late in the set. Despite the effort, Northern Colorado sealed the set 25-23 and won the match 3-0.
Up Next:
The Eagles will travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the Big Sky Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 27-29. Eastern will enter the tournament as either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
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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