CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington volleyball battled through five sets against CSU Bakersfield on Friday night, falling 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 5-15). The night was highlighted by
Kalista Lukovich recording her 1,000th career kill, becoming the 12th Eagle in program history to reach the milestone.
Lukovich led Eastern with 26 kills on a .281 hitting percentage, adding 11 digs for a double-double along with four service aces.
Judith Bolomboy finished with seven kills while hitting .545 and recorded a team-high six blocks.
Jailyn Davenport added a double-double with 38 assists and 16 digs, while
Elle Bruegman finished with 14 digs.
"Not how we had hoped tonight would have gone, but I think throughout the evening we showed some true resilience," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "We got back to the basics and took care of things behind the service line. I was really impressed with how we played through sets two, three and four. This is a tough loss against a good team, but it's a really good gauge of the Big Sky."
Eastern battled back after falling behind 8-1 in the opening set. A strong serving run from
Reese Betschart helped fuel a 6-0 run that pulled the Eagles within 14-13, but Bakersfield answered and held on for the 25-20 win.
The Eagles responded in the second, taking control behind Lukovich, who opened the frame with a service ace. Eastern built an 11-6 advantage and maintained its lead throughout the set. Lukovich added another ace late before the Eagles secured a 25-20 win to even the match.
Eastern carried the momentum into the third. After trailing 5-2, the Eagles used kills from Bolomboy, Lukovich and Davenport, along with a Betschart ace, to take an 8-6 lead. The Eagles' defense came alive late, with Bolomboy and
Aspyn Reed combining for a block before Reed added a solo block as Eastern earned a 25-21 victory.
"She's doing a really nice job, but when she's not able to get kills, she's impacting the match in other ways," Haruguchi said of Bolomboy. "She does quite a bit for us, and I think she's doing a nice job defensively as well."
The fourth set remained tight throughout, with Lukovich giving Eastern a 17-16 advantage on a service ace. The teams were tied at 19 before Bakersfield closed the frame on a 6-2 run to win 25-21 and force a fifth.
Bakersfield jumped ahead in the deciding set and used an 11-0 run to build a 13-2 advantage before closing out the match, 15-5.
"A lot of it comes from my teammates," Bruegman said of her work in the back row. "We practice together every day, and it's about building that confidence and cohesiveness in the back row."
Eastern will cap off the Eastern Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 19, taking on Portland at 1:30 p.m.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
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
