On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Eastern Washington Eagles will come down to Moscow for a volleyball rematch against the Vandals. The Eagles, who are 2-19 and on an 11-game losing streak, lost to the Vandals on Oct. 3, where the Vandals swept them 3-0. The Vandals, who are 4-17, have only one conference win, which is against Eastern Washington.
The Vandals have only four wins this season. Comparitively, the team had only one win last year, against Siena College. Last year, the team got swept 3-0 both times they played Eastern Washington. This season, while the number of wins have changed only slightly, the matches against the Eagles are drastically different.
Eastern Washington is in a slump, as they are 2-19 compared to their 12-15 record last season. The Eagles went 8-8 in conference play last year, which is already out of the picture this season, due to them being 0-9 in conference play. The Eagles are also 0-9 in away games, so their odds of winning against the Vandals are very low.
The Vandals have gotten better this season due to a new addition to the team, freshman Kiana Greer. Greer has racked up almost 250 kills this season, which leads the team. Greer is also in the top five forblocks, digs, service aces and assists. Greer has played amazingly this season and has become a major role-player for the team.
The Eagles also have a key player in this matchup, Kalista Lukovich, a junior for the team. Lukovich is also top five on her team in kills, assists, blocks, service aces and digs. She leads the team in kills, with 212, with the next closest player only at 133. Lukovich has been a great player for the Eagles since her freshman year. During that year, she recorded a career-high 17 kills.
Even though these two teams have key players, anyone could step up to win the second matchup of the season. Volleyball is a team sport, so at the end of the day it comes down to which team is better at working together. The Vandals will look to sweep the Eagles and get their second conference win of the season.
The Vandals and Eagles will face off at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m.
Taylan Hallum can be reached at [email protected].