
Eastern Washington Holds Off CSUN in Five Sets in Portland
9/8/2023 1:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. – The CSUN women's volleyball played to a fifth set for the fourth time in six matches this season, but the Eastern Washington Eagles defeated the Matadors, 3-2 in a non-conference match Friday afternoon at the Chiles Center.
Leah Miller matched her season-high, leading CSUN (1-5) with 16 kills, while Perri Starkey and Carisa Barron each had double-doubles. Starkey had 12 kills and a season-high 19 digs while Barron added 13 kills and 11 assists.
For the match, Eastern Washington out-hit CSUN .257 to .192 while each team had 62 digs and eight blocks. The Eagles served 11 to five for the Matadors.
SET 1: EWU 25, CSUN 15
The Matadors got off to a slow start, hitting .138 in the opening set while the Eagles hit .522. After a kill by Starkey pulled CSUN within 12-10, the Matadors were outscored 11-3 over the next 13 points as EWU opened up a 23-13 lead.
SET 2: CSUN 25, EWU 22
CSUN bounced back to hit .308 in the second set while limiting the Eagles to a .250 hitting clip. With the score tied 12-12, the Matadors would score five straight to open up a 17-12 cushion forcing an EWU timeout. An ensuing 6-1 run by the Eagles tied the score at 18-18 when EWU scored twice more to take a 20-18 lead. A Barron kill capped a 4-1 run that gave CSUN a 22-21 lead and the Matadors would hold on for the 25-22 win.
SET 3: EWU 25, CSUN 21
CSUN would struggle in the third set, hitting .132 as a team in falling in a two sets to one hole. With the score tied at 11, the Eagles scored four straight and would eventually claim nine of the next 12 points to lead 20-14. Still down 24-19, the Matadors saved a pair of set points before falling 25-21.
SET 4: CSUN 25, EWU 20
The Matadors dominated the fourth set, putting down 17 kills while out-hitting the Eagles .333 to .100. With the score tied 16-16, a Barron kill fueled a 5-2 CSUN run that opened up a 21-18 lead. An Eastern Washington block trimmed the lead to 22-20 before kills by Taylor Orshoff and Taylor Hunter, along with an EWU hitting error, sent the Matadors to the fifth set.
SET 5: EWU 15, CSUN 9
The Bulldogs claimed five of the first six points in the final set, forcing a CSUN timeout. The Matadors rallied back to within one at 7-6 before the Eagles went on a 7-2 run to open up a comfortable 14-8 lead.
ACCORDING TO COACH JOHN PRICE
"Honestly, we're very close to winning these five-set matches but we're doing just enough to lose. Every match I feel like we're turning the corner but we come up short which is frustrating. The good thing is, we've got another chance to bounce back and pick up a win later this afternoon."
NOTES
- CSUN libero Kelsey Knudsen matched Starkey with a team-high 19 digs while also adding a season-high nine assists.
- Taylor Dunlap had a team-high 24 assists while Kaia Kanan came off the bench to record eight assists and two digs.
- The match was the 17th meeting between the former Big Sky Conference rivals, Eastern Washington improved to 12-5 all-time.
UP NEXT
CSUN continues tournament play in Portland this evening as the Matadors take on the host Pilots at 5 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors