BOSIE, Idaho. – Eastern Washington battled Saint Mary's down to the wire in all three sets Thursday, but the Gaels came away with a 3-0 victory, winning each frame by an identical 25-23 score.
Aspyn Reed led the Eagles offensively with nine kills while adding four total blocks and six digs.
Kalista Lukovich finished with six kills, nine digs and a service ace.
Stephanie Groswirt provided a spark off the bench with three kills on six attacks, hitting .500.
Jailyn Davenport dished out a team-high 15 assists, while
Elle Bruegman led Eastern with 14 digs and
Judith Bolomboy added five block assists.
"We showed today that we are still a work in progress," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "I believe we can learn a lot from this loss and make some changes in our training that can help us moving forward. We will embrace the struggle and keep our heads down. We're in it for the long haul and there's a lot of season left."
Saint Mary's grabbed an early advantage in the opening set, but Eastern battled back after trailing 12-9. A kill from
Bria Carlisle and an ace from Lukovich helped spark a 4-0 run that put the Eagles ahead 13-12. Eastern extended the advantage to 16-13 behind kills from
Sidney Gray and Reed. The Gaels eventually pulled ahead 22-21, but Eastern answered with two straight points to retake the lead. Saint Mary's responded out of a timeout with three consecutive points to take the opening set, 25-23.
The Gaels opened the second with a 7-3 lead before Eastern rattled off four straight points to tie the set. The Eagles continued the momentum, building an 11-8 advantage behind a Reed kill and a block from Bolomboy and Davenport. Saint Mary's battled back to take a 20-18 lead, but Eastern again responded with three straight to move ahead 21-20. The teams traded points late and were tied at 23 before the Gaels scored the final two to secure another 25-23 win.
Eastern started fast in the third, jumping out to a 6-2 advantage behind a Lukovich kill, a Gray and Carlisle block and a solo block from Reed. With the score tied at nine, the Eagles put together a 5-0 run to build a 14-9 lead before eventually extending the margin to 16-10. Saint Mary's chipped away, but a Reed and Bolomboy block gave Eastern a 23-20 advantage late. The Gaels responded with five unanswered points, including back-to-back kills and a match-clinching service ace, to steal the third set, 25-23, and complete the sweep.
Eastern will take on Sacramento State on Friday, Sept. 11 at 2:30 p.m., PST in game two of the Bosie State Classic.
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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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