CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington fell to Utah Tech in three sets, moving to 9-13 overall and 3-7 in Big Sky play.
Bria Carlisle paced the Eagles with seven kills, while
Aspyn Reed added six and
Carlyn Rapozo-Kamoku finished with four kills and two service aces.
Jailyn Davenport directed the offense with 20 assists while adding 11 digs, two kills, an ace and a solo block.
Elle Bruegman led Eastern with 13 digs, while
Jade Livingston added nine. The Eagles totaled 58 digs, five aces and five blocks.
"Obviously we knew that was going to be a very disciplined team," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "They did a lot of stuff really well, and then we did a lot of stuff that wasn't so great. But I think we forced them into making a few more errors than they normally do, so that helped out."
Utah Tech took the opening set, 25-13. Eastern responded to an early deficit behind the service line, with Rapozo-Kamoku delivering back-to-back aces to even the score at 4-4. The Trailblazers answered with a 7-2 run to build an 11-6 advantage and continued to create separation. Carlisle provided a late spark with consecutive kills, followed by a Bruegman ace that pulled Eastern within six at 18-12, but Utah Tech closed the frame with a strong run.
Eastern responded with its best push of the match in the second set. Carlisle recorded back-to-back kills to even the score at 7-7 before the Eagles grabbed a 9-8 advantage. The teams continued trading points until a solo block from
Judith Bolomboy tied the set at 15.
Reese Betschart followed with an ace to put Eastern ahead, and Davenport later delivered an ace to give the Eagles a 20-18 advantage. Utah Tech answered down the stretch, using a late run to take the set, 25-22.
The Trailblazers opened the third with a 7-2 lead before Eastern answered with four straight points. Davenport recorded a solo block and Reed followed with a kill to cut the deficit to 7-6. Utah Tech eventually extended its advantage to 22-16, but Eastern made one final push. Betschart recorded a kill before Rapozo-Kamoku added a kill and solo block to pull the Eagles within 23-21. Utah Tech scored the final two points to secure the 25-21 win and complete the sweep.
Eastern's serving remained a bright spot, with the Eagles recording five aces in the match.
"We practice serving to disrupt," Davenport said. "We're looking to see how out of sorts we can get the other team. I think we've all put in a lot of work on that this season, and it's starting to show, which is awesome."
Haruguchi also emphasized the opportunity for Eastern's lineup to continue developing through its current challenges.
"We are who we are right now," Haruguchi said. "This is an opportunity, and so with that comes some different challenges. I'm excited to see how we approach those challenges."
Up Next
Eastern Washington travels to Portland State on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., before taking on Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 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.
