EWU volleyball wrapped up the season after a loss at Northern Colorado on Nov. 12 and a loss at North Dakota on Nov. 14. After back-to-back losses, the Eagles fell to 9-7 in the Big Sky conference. They ended the regular season with a four-game losing streak and having lost seven of their last nine. Despite the slow end to the season, EWU still has a playoff spot clinched and finished fourth in the Big Sky North Division. Thursday, Nov. 19 the team will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to play Idaho State University in the Big Sky tournament.

Final Score:

Northern Colorado defeated the Eagles, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 16-14.

What It Means:

EWU falls to 9-6 in conference and 14-12 overall, but still remains a contender for the Big Sky North Division title as well as the number 2 seed in the conference tournament. Northern Colorado improve to 9-6 in conference play and 13-15 overall.

Turning Point:

In a back and forth 5 set match, Eastern won the first and third set, only to lose the fifth set following a 2-2 tie. The match was a nail biter, as there were 42 ties and 15 lead changes through all 5 sets. The fifth and final set was the decider of the match. The score went back and forth the whole way before Northern Colorado broke a 14-14 tie. With a Bears kill and an Eagles attack error, Northern Colorado took the set and the match.

Key Statistics:

Although EWU lost the match, it out-hit Northern Colorado with a .203 to Northern Colorado’s .190. and also out-blocked them, 9-5. But Northern Colorado led in digs and aces. What really made the difference though was the Eagles’ 14 service errors to the Bears’ six. Senior Ana Jakovljevic set a career high with 18 kills and also had 13 digs. Sophomore Nicole Rigoni had 34 assists, and senior Ryann Ensrud led EWU with 17 digs.

Final Score:

EWU fell to University of North Dakota, 21-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-21, 13-15.

What It Means:

The Eagles fell to 14-13 overall and 9-7 in conference play with the loss. UND improved to 21-12 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

Turning Point:

This was another tough loss after a well-played match. The Eagles showed a lot of fight in the season finale ending up on the wrong end of back and forth sets. After losing the first set, EWU soared back to win the second set in a demanding fashion, 25-15. They led in the third set but lost late by a score of 26-24. EWU won the fourth set but then dropped the fifth and final set, 13-15.

Key Statistics:

Despite the loss, the Eagles had 77 kills but committed 30 attack errors. They out-hit UND .240 to .215 but UND had only 17 attack errors. It ended up being all of the Eagles’ mistakes that cost them the match. But there were still individual bright spots. Jakovljevic set a career high with 22 kills, to go along with 14 digs. Rigoni had a career high of 60 assists and Ensrud led the team with 34 digs.