CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington volleyball fell to Northern Colorado in straight sets Friday evening at Reese Court, dropping to 9-16 overall and 3-10 in Big Sky Conference play. The Bears secured the victory by set scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-16.
Bria Carlisle led Eastern with seven kills on a .312 hitting percentage, while
Aspyn Reed added five kills.
Judith Bolomboy recorded three kills on a .750 hitting percentage while adding two solo blocks and three block assists.
Jailyn Davenport directed the offense with 11 assists, while
Jade Livingston contributed a team-high seven digs.
"All thanks to my setters, really," Carlisle said. "I feel like they were feeding me the ball a lot tonight and it was giving me good opportunities. So, I felt like I could really just go for it with their trust."
Eastern opened the match with a kill from Reed, but Northern Colorado responded with an 8-0 run to take a 9-1 advantage. Carlisle ended the run with a kill, while Reed and Bolomboy added kills to help Eastern find its rhythm. The Bears maintained control throughout the frame, taking the opening set, 25-14.
The Eagles battled in the second set, keeping things close behind kills from Carlisle and Bolomboy. Trailing 19-15, Eastern put together a 4-0 run, highlighted by a Carlisle kill and a block from Carlisle and Bolomboy, to tie the set at 19-19. Eastern cut the deficit to 23-22 late, but Northern Colorado secured the final two points to win, 25-22.
Northern Colorado carried its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. Eastern responded with a service ace from
Reese Betschart and back-to-back kills from
Carlyn Rapozo-Kamoku to cut the deficit to 14-9. Carlisle added two kills, while Bolomboy contributed three blocks in the frame, but the Bears secured the set, 25-16.
Head coach
Jon Haruguchi praised Bolomboy's efficiency and development.
"These are some of the things that we see day in and day out of practice from her," Haruguchi said. "She was very efficient with her swings. Not a ton of opportunities for her, but she really took care of the ball when she got it."
Up Next
Eastern Washington travels to Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., looking to remain in contention for a Big Sky Tournament berth.
"We have to have a short memory about this stuff because we have a quick turnaround for tomorrow," Haruguchi said. "We're going to take some of the lessons that we learned and work it into tomorrow's match."
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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