BOZEMAN, Mont.— Eastern fell to Montana State in straight sets on Thursday night. The Eagles opened strong in set one, building a 14–7 lead, but momentum slipped away late. The Bobcats controlled set two from the start, and although Eastern battled in a back-and-forth third set, they ultimately came up short by three points.
"I thought we started strong and really came out aggressive both from the service line and at the net," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "I'm real proud of how we battled back in the third set and with our overall effort. In the end we just need to execute at a little higher level to get us over the hump."
Kalista Lukovich and
Judith Bolomboy led the Eagles with seven kills each, while
Alyssa Radke added six.
Anna Bolich paced the offense with 15 assists. Defensively,
Quincey McCoy anchored Eastern at the net with six blocks, followed by Bolomboy with four. Eastern led the blocking battle with 11 blocks compared to Montana States six.
The Eagles opened the first set showcasing their blocking strength, with McCoy and Lukovich teaming up for an early stop. After a tight start, Eastern surged on a 6-0 run—fueled by strong blocking and MSU errors—to take a 14–7 advantage. The Bobcats responded with runs of their own, eventually tying the set at 17–17 and again at 19–19 before taking their first lead at 20–19. Eastern fought to regain ground but dropped the opener, 20–25.
Radke sparked the Eagles early in set two with a kill, but Montana State quickly pushed ahead by five. Eastern attempted to rally, trimming the deficit to three, yet the Bobcats regained full control and closed out the set 25–15 to take a 2–0 match lead.
Montana State came out firing again in set three, jumping ahead on a 5–0 run. Eastern responded with a 4–0 burst and later cut the gap to 11–9 with blocks from McCoy and
Cassandra Moeller. A kill from Radke brought the Eagles even at 20–20, but MSU held strong down the stretch, sealing the 25–22 win and the 3–0 sweep.
Up Next
Eastern continues its road slate at Montana on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. PST.
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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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