MOSCOW, Idaho — Eastern Washington volleyball earned a hard-fought four-set victory over rival Idaho on Saturday night at Memorial Gym, defeating the Vandals 25-22, 27-29, 27-25 and 25-21. The Eagles improved to 10-16 overall and 4-10 in Big Sky Conference play, using a balanced offensive attack and strong blocking performance to secure the road win.
"Very happy with how we battled tonight," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "It was a complete team effort and we have to be pleased with the response. The pressure at this point in the season is immense and I'm glad we got this one."
Aspyn Reed led Eastern with a team-high 16 kills on a .294 hitting percentage, while
Carlyn Rapozo-Kamoku followed with 15 kills and 10 digs.
Bria Carlisle delivered an efficient performance, recording 11 kills on a team-best .417 hitting percentage while adding three block assists.
Jailyn Davenport directed the offense with 46 assists, 12 digs and five kills, while
Elle Bruegman anchored the defense with a team-high 19 digs.
Sidney Gray and
Judith Bolomboy each contributed five total blocks as Eastern finished with 13 team blocks. The Eagles totaled 58 kills while hitting .229 as a team.
Eastern Washington opened the match with a 25-22 victory in the first set. After a back-and-forth start, the Eagles used a strong offensive push to build an 18-13 advantage behind kills from Bolomboy and a service ace from
Reese Betschart. Idaho battled back late, cutting the deficit to 23-22, but Carlisle delivered a crucial kill to give Eastern set point before Reed closed out the frame with another kill.
The second set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes as both teams battled for momentum. Eastern built an 11-7 advantage early behind strong blocking and timely kills from Reed and Carlisle.
Idaho responded to take the lead late, but the Eagles continued to fight, saving multiple set points. Rapozo-Kamoku gave Eastern a 26-25 advantage with a kill before Idaho rallied to claim the set, 29-27, evening the match at 1-1.
Eastern responded with its strongest offensive set of the night in the third, recording 19 kills on a .333 hitting percentage to earn a 27-25 victory. Rapozo-Kamoku led the charge with 10 kills on 14 attacks without an error, hitting .714 in the frame. The Eagles built a 19-14 lead before Idaho rallied to tie the set at 21-21. After the Vandals took a 25-24 advantage, Rapozo-Kamoku delivered back-to-back kills to put Eastern ahead 26-25. Gray followed with a solo block to secure the set and give the Eagles a 2-1 match advantage.
The Eagles carried that momentum into the fourth set, closing out the match with a 25-21 victory. After trailing 9-7, Eastern used a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill from Bolomboy, a service ace from Bruegman and a block from Carlisle and Bolomboy to take an 11-9 lead. Idaho continued to battle, tying the score at 19-19, but Eastern responded with timely plays from Carlisle and Reed to regain control. Reed delivered a crucial kill to put the Eagles ahead 23-21 before Bolomboy added a solo block to bring up match point. Betschart sealed the victory with a service ace, giving Eastern its fourth conference win of the season.
Up Next
Eastern Washington returns home to Reese Court for its final stretch of Big Sky Conference play.
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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