The EWU volleyball team competed on the road against California State University, Sacramento, and Portland State University on Oct. 9 and 11.

The Eagles faced Sacramento State to start their Big Sky road trip. EWU defeated the Hornets in a five-set victory, 3-2. Eastern lost the first set of the match, but the team would bounce back by taking the next two sets.

Assistant coach Janelle Allen talked about the details of the Sacramento State game. “It was just a lot of back and forth with them,” Allen said. “We’re a similar team, so we knew it was going to be a battle.”

Currently leading 2-1 in the match, Sacramento State fought back in the fourth set. The Hornets ended the fourth set with an 8-2 advantage for a fifth set to decide the match. Junior outside hitters Ana Jakovljevic and Allie Schumacher helped the Eagles get to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set.

Eastern built their lead to an 8-5 deficit, but Sacramento State showed resilience again by shaving down the deficit to one, 9-8. EWU showed their defensive skills: freshman middle blocker Chloe Weber gave the Eagles a three-point lead with two blocks.

Associate head coach Michael King talked about the team’s toughness against the Hornets. “We started off a little bit slow, we made a few adjustments,” King said. “We were able to really battle back.”

However, the Hornets still would not give up; EWU would again see their lead get decreased to one point. Schumacher kept the Eagles in the game by putting her team up by two with a service error and a kill. Sophomore opposite hitter Sophie Miller helped Eastern earn the win with a service ace.

Schumacher and senior middle blocker Talia Fermantez were among the top performers of the match. Schumacher finished with 14 kills and Fermantez helped out with 13 kills. Jakovljevic earned 10 kills and 12 digs for a double-double.

Miller had 22 assists, five kills, four blocks, and three digs. Freshman setter Nicole Rigoni chipped in with 18 assists and five digs. Weber had a season high of eight blocks with six kills.

EWU ended up having a higher hitting percentage than Sacramento State, .270-.253. The Hornets led the Eagles in blocks, 12-11. They also led Eastern in digs and aces, 66-56 and 9-7.

Eastern had a change of identity in their second road match. The Eagles did not show up offensively, they fell to the Vikings 3-0. The beginning of the match seemed promising, they built a 12-10 lead in the first set. However, Portland State revved up their offense and scored nine straight points to win the first set.

King talked about how the Eagles could not stop the Vikings’ offense and how the team tried their best to keep the match competitive. “We didn’t have the outcome that we wanted, but I really felt pretty strong about how hard they fought throughout the match,” King said. “Portland State just was a little bit better than us on the serve and pass.”

As the match went on, the Vikings maintained their pressure on the Eagles’ defense to take the next two sets. For the match, Eastern hit -.036 compared to Portland State’s .196 hitting percentage.

The Vikings also led Eastern in blocks, digs and aces: 12-9, 50-38 and 5-3. Weber had six kills and four blocks for the game and senior opposite hitter Kelsey Julian helped out with six kills.

Rigoni finished the match with 14 assists, freshman outside hitter Megan LaFond and junior defensive specialist Ryann Ensrud each had six digs each.

At a current record of 6-13, Allen explained that the team still has the same goals they had since the beginning of their season. “No, we’re still moving the right direction,” Allen said. “It’s hard to bounce back sometimes from those tough losses.”

“To see how we bounce back this week against Montana and Montana State will be a true test of this team and where we can really go with it towards the end of the regular season and then into the tournament,” Allen said.

Eastern will compete against Montana State at home on Oct. 16.