CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington battled throughout the afternoon but fell to Portland in three sets.
Kalista Lukovich led the Eagles with 13 kills while adding four digs and four total blocks.
Carlyn Rapozo-Kamoku contributed five kills and nine digs, while
Bria Carlisle added four kills.
Stephanie Groswirt directed the offense with 19 assists, six digs and a service ace, while
Elle Bruegman led the back row with 10 digs.
Sidney Gray added four total blocks as Eastern finished with nine as a team.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Lukovich was named to the All-Tournament Team, adding another honor to her strong start to the season.
"It was a really tough weekend. We played three really difficult opponents, and hats off to all of them because they played really well," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "We were experimenting with a lot of things, but I think these are exactly the kind of matches we need heading into Big Sky play."
Eastern opened the match with a quick 2-0 advantage behind a Portland attack error and a Lukovich kill. The Pilots answered with a run to build a 16-6 lead midway through the frame. The Eagles found a spark late, putting together a 7-1 run behind Groswirt, who recorded two kills while helping set up Lukovich and Carlisle. Eastern cut the deficit to 21-15, but Portland held off the late push to take the opening set, 25-17.
The Eagles responded with a tightly contested second set. After Portland built a 13-7 advantage, Eastern rattled off four straight points, highlighted by a kill and solo block from Gray, to pull within two. Eastern continued to chip away before Rapozo-Kamoku helped the Eagles erase the deficit and tie the frame at 21.
"I just reminded myself why I'm here and that it's a privilege to have pressure," Rapozo-Kamoku said. "I leaned into my teammates, and they gave me the spark that I needed, and I gave them the spark they needed."
Eastern continued to battle as Rapozo-Kamoku tied the set again at 22 before
Judith Bolomboy made it 23-all. The Eagles fought off set point twice and extended the frame to 25-25, but Portland scored the final two points for a 27-25 win.
Eastern carried the momentum into the third, jumping out to a 6-2 lead behind its defense. Lukovich and Gray helped control the net early, while Groswirt added a service ace. The Eagles maintained a 15-12 advantage before Portland responded to move ahead 18-16.
Eastern answered again, with
Jailyn Davenport delivering a service ace to tie the set at 19 before a Portland attack error put the Eagles ahead, 20-19. The Pilots regained the advantage, but kills from Bolomboy and Carlisle kept Eastern close before Portland scored the final two points to take the set, 25-22.
"We train everybody to be ready to go," Haruguchi said of the Eagles' bench contributions. "When they come in, we want them to make an immediate impact, and I thought they did a great job."
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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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