RENO, Nev. — Eastern Washington battled through a challenging start at the Nevada Invitational before breaking through in their final match against Pacific, earning their first victory of the season in a five-set thriller. The Eagles finished the weekend 1-2, moving to 1-8 overall.
"It was very nice to get that first win this weekend," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "We've been working diligently to make improvements, to find the right court chemistry and things fell into place a little more this weekend. We know we have a long way to go but progress isn't a straight line. We are seeing the incremental growth we've been focused on and I'm very pleased with the response the team showed today."
Standout performances came from
Kalista Lukovich with 40 kills and
Alyssa Radke with 33.
Anna Bolich directed the offense with 59 assists, while
Jailyn Davenport chipped in 29. Defensively,
Elle Bruegman anchored the back row with 43 digs, while Lukovich added 30. At the net,
Judith Bolomboy dominated with 27 blocks over the three matches, including 14 in the win over Pacific. Radke contributed 15 blocks as well.
Match Recaps
EWU vs. Pacific
In their final game of the tournament, Eastern Washington pieced it all together, defeating Pacific in five sets for their first win of the season. Bolomboy was a force with 14 blocks, while Lukovich paced the attack with 13 kills.
Pacific controlled the opening set from start to finish, building a nine-point cushion on the way to a 25-16 win. The Eagles responded with authority in set two, using a 7-0 run to pull ahead 22-11 before closing it out 25-13.
The third set was tightly contested, with Eastern pulling ahead late by six points. Pacific rallied with a 5-0 surge to cut the deficit to one, but the Eagles held on for a 25-23 win. The Tigers struck back in the fourth, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and eventually cruising to a 25-18 win to force a deciding set.
In the fifth, Eastern seized momentum early, taking advantage of Pacific errors and big blocks to build a 9-4 lead. Lukovich broke a small Pacific run with a timely back-row attack, and the Eagles never looked back, closing out the set 15-8 to clinch the 3-2 victory.
EWU vs. Nevada
Eastern's opener against host Nevada was a back-and-forth battle. The Eagles' best run of the first set was a 4-0 stretch to lead 8-6, but Nevada surged ahead late to win 25-23. Eastern responded in set two, rallying from a 23-20 deficit to take the set 27-25 and even the match.
The third set was just as close, with Eastern leading 21-19 before Nevada regrouped to steal it 25-23. The Wolf Pack carried that momentum into set four, starting on a 7-0 run and pulling away 25-16 to seal the 3-1 win.
EWU vs. CSU Bakersfield
Eastern opened strong against the Roadrunners, surviving a late push to take the first set 25-23. CSU Bakersfield evened the match in the second and stole the momentum in the third, edging the Eagles 26-24 after a late challenge went their way.
The Eagles raced to a 16-7 lead in the fourth, powered by strong serving from Bolich and Lukovich, and looked poised to force a fifth set. But CSU stormed back, tying the score at 22-22 before closing with four straight points to stun Eastern 26-24 and win the match 3-1.
Up Next
The Eagles return home to Cheney, Wash., for their first home tournament of the season. They face Seattle U on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., followed by Gonzaga on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. In between, Eastern will take a short trip to Pullman to face Washington State on Friday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. (non-tournament match).
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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.
