CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington fell to Idaho in four sets, 29-27, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22.
Kalista Lukovich led the Eagles with 20 kills and 11 digs for a double-double, while
Elle Bruegman anchored the back row with a team-high 22 digs.
Jailyn Davenport added 32 assists and 16 digs, while
Judith Bolomboy finished with four kills and four blocks.
Sidney Gray added three solo blocks, and
Makena Gamby provided a spark from the service line with three aces.
"That first one took a lot out of us, and it was hard to come back in that second set, but I was pretty proud of us in the third set," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "We had our chances throughout this match to really impact it a little bit more than we did, but some of the stuff that does work for us was still working for us."
Eastern battled through a back-and-forth opening set but came up just short, 29-27. The Eagles erased a 20-15 deficit with five unanswered points, fueled by three Lukovich kills and a
Reese Betschart service ace to pull even at 20. Eastern earned multiple set-point opportunities down the stretch, including a 27-26 advantage following a
Bria Carlisle kill, before Idaho scored the final three points.
The Vandals carried the momentum into the second, using an early 9-0 run to build a 10-1 advantage. Eastern made a late push with five straight points behind a Lukovich kill, a
Ziah Sneva solo block and three Idaho attack errors, but the Vandals responded to take the set, 25-16.
Facing a must-win third, Eastern answered with a 25-20 victory. The Eagles turned a 7-7 tie into a 13-7 advantage with a 6-0 run highlighted by back-to-back solo blocks from Gray. Idaho trimmed the lead to 17-14, but kills from Lukovich and Carlisle, along with a Gamby ace, helped Eastern maintain control and extend the match.
Bruegman was steady throughout the night in serve receive, handling 37 receptions with only one error while recording 22 digs.
"A lot of it does come down to communication and just trusting that my teammates are giving me a good call," Bruegman said. "Our block being set up good on the pins and in the middle gives me a nice window to dig behind them."
Idaho created separation in the fourth with a 7-1 run to build a 15-8 lead, but Eastern made one final push. The Eagles cut a 22-14 deficit to 22-19 behind two Lukovich kills and a Davenport service ace. Eastern fought off two set points before Idaho closed out the 25-22 win.
Haruguchi credited Eastern's pressure from the service line for helping the Eagles improve defensively as the match progressed.
"Everything stems from the service line," Haruguchi said. "If we start serving tougher, then the blocking becomes a lot easier."
Up Next
Eastern Washington will hit the road to take on Northern Colorado on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 5:00 p.m., PST.
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.
