SPOKANE, Wash. – Eastern Washington battled through five sets to defeat Gonzaga, 3-2 (17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 28-30, 15-13), earning a hard-fought win over the Bulldogs.
Kalista Lukovich led the Eagles with 19 kills and added 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Jailyn Davenport finished with 41 assists, while
Sidney Gray led Eastern at the net with seven blocks. As a team, the Eagles recorded 16 blocks and five service aces.
"I'm super pleased with our players, every last one of them," head coach
Jon Haruguchi said. "We don't get here without everybody buying in to what we're doing in practice every single day."
Eastern jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before Gonzaga responded to even the score at 5-5. The Bulldogs created separation midway through the frame and held off an Eastern push that cut the deficit to 17-15, taking the first set, 25-17.
The Eagles responded in the second. Leading 10-9, Eastern found success at the net as
Bria Carlisle and Gray combined for a block before Carlisle added a solo block. A 5-0 run highlighted by an
Aspyn Reed ace and kills from Reed and Lukovich pushed the lead to 18-12.
Judith Bolomboy eventually delivered the set-clinching kill for a 25-18 win.
Eastern fell behind 6-1 in the third but steadily worked its way back. A 5-0 run gave the Eagles a 14-11 advantage before they extended the lead to 24-18. Gonzaga fought off five straight set points, but Bolomboy ended the comeback with a kill to secure the 25-23 win.
The fourth set went back and forth after Eastern erased an early 4-0 deficit. Gonzaga took a 22-18 lead late, but the Eagles battled back to tie the set at 23-23. The teams traded match points deep into extra points before the Bulldogs scored the final three to take the set, 30-28, and force a fifth.
Gonzaga grabbed a 3-0 lead in the deciding set, but Eastern quickly responded behind Lukovich to tie it at 4-4. The Bulldogs later went ahead 12-9 before the Eagles answered with three straight points, capped by a
Jade Livingston ace, to even the score.
"We're really working on coming together as a group and making sure that we're taking the things that we work on in practice and implementing them," Haruguchi said.
After Gonzaga moved ahead 13-12,
Reese Betschart answered with a kill before Carlisle delivered back-to-back kills to close out the 15-13 victory.
"It's just constant little reminders throughout the match of what we're doing, who we're doing it with, what are we doing it for," Haruguchi said. "Those kinds of things really do all add up and really matter."
The Eagles return to action Thursday, Sept. 10, against Saint Mary's in the opening match of the Boise 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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