CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington battled Northern Arizona through five sets Thursday night, ultimately falling 3-2 to move to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in Big Sky play.
Kalista Lukovich led the Eagles with 21 kills on a .254 hitting percentage and added 13 digs for a double-double. Her performance moved her into fifth all-time at Eastern with 1,135 career kills.
Aspyn Reed added 14 kills, while
Judith Bolomboy finished with seven kills on a team-best .438 hitting percentage and five block assists.
Jailyn Davenport recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 16 digs, while
Elle Bruegman anchored the back row with a career-high 27 digs.
"Really tough loss for us tonight," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "Northern Arizona is a very, very well-coached, well-disciplined team. In the end, they just played a lot cleaner than us down the stretch, and that's really the difference."
Eastern battled throughout a back-and-forth opening set but fell, 26-24. The Eagles built an early 10-7 advantage before NAU pulled even at 13-13. Trailing 21-18 late, Eastern mounted a 5-1 run behind two Lukovich kills, a Lukovich and
Sidney Gray block and another kill from Gray to take a 23-22 lead.
Reese Betschart gave Eastern set point at 24-23, but NAU answered with three straight points.
\
The Eagles responded in the second, earning a 25-23 win. After falling behind 3-0, Eastern quickly erased the deficit and grabbed a 9-6 lead behind back-to-back Lukovich kills. Reed delivered two late kills to help Eastern build a 22-18 advantage before Gray closed the frame with the set-winning kill.
Eastern carried the momentum into the third, rolling to a 25-13 victory. Tied at 8-8, the Eagles began to pull away behind strong play at the net and a Bruegman service ace. Eastern stretched its advantage to 18-11 before closing the frame on a 7-1 run to take a 2-1 match lead.
"I think our hitters did a great job of playing big," Davenport said. "They were all just being very aggressive, calling the ball. I want to shout out Judi in the middle. She just did an awesome job."
Northern Arizona answered with a 25-19 fourth-set win. Eastern pulled within one at 7-6 before NAU used a 4-0 run to regain control. Lukovich recorded six kills in the frame, while Gray added two kills and two solo blocks.
The Lumberjacks then secured the match with a 15-8 win in the fifth. Eastern battled to a 7-7 tie behind Lukovich, but NAU finished the set on an 8-1 run.
"With the way the NCAA is right now with kids transferring, I think it's pretty special when someone sticks around," Haruguchi said. "I'm really happy for Kalista"
Up Next
Eastern Washington will take on Portland State on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12:00 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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
Follow the Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky and TikTok for all the latest news around the league and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated.
