Sports Briefs

Eastern volleyball hosts Northern

Arizona, travels to Idaho

Fresh off clinching a bid to the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the first time in four years, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team faces a pair of tough tests this week with matches against Northern Arizona and Idaho.

Eastern hosts NAU today, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m., before facing the Vandals in Moscow, Idaho, on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m.

The Eagles’ match versus the Lumberjacks also marks the final appearance at Reese Court for seniors Ryann Ensrud, Alexis Wesley, Allie Schumacher and Ana Jakovljevic. The group will be honored prior to the start of the contest.

EWU (14-9, 9-3 Big Sky) secured a spot in this season’s conference tournament on the heels of its five-set win ov Montana State last Friday, Oct. 30.

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EWU soccer in Big Sky tournament

Fresh off the best regular season in program history, the Eastern Washington University women’s soccer team kicks off its quest for a Big Sky Championship title and an NCAA College Cup berth this week in Moscow, Idaho.

Eastern, the No. 3 seed, will square off with No. 6 Sacramento State in a quarterfinal match today, (Nov. 5), at 10 a.m. Win and the Eagles will face No. 2 Northern Colorado in a semifinal tilt on Friday, Nov. 6, with their eyes on the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 8.Idaho is serving as this year’s Big Sky Championship host after claiming the league’s regular season title.

EWU (12-3-3, 6-2-2 Big Sky) enters the league tournament as a top-three seed for just the third time in program history, and the first time since 2009. Eastern set new program records for overall victories (12) and conference wins (6) this season and saw sophomore Chloe Williams become the first Eagle in school history to earn Big Sky Offensive MVP honors.

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Eagle women finish second, men

fourth in Big Sky cross country

The Eastern Washington University cross country teams competed in the Big Sky Conference Championships, Saturday Oct. 31, at the Cedar Ridge Golf course in Cedar City, Utah. The host team, Southern Utah, took the men’s conference title while Weber State won the championship for the women. 

The EWU women’s team finished in second place on the 5,000-meter course after the Wildcats, who are ranked fifth in the Mountain Region and 28th in the nation. Their finish recorded a new best finish in program history. The EWU men’s team finished in fourth place on the 8,000 meter course behind Southern Utah.

The top finisher for the women’s team was junior Sarah Reiter who finished in eighth with a time of 18 minutes, 25.8 seconds. The top finisher for the men’s team was junior Stephen Bottoms who finished in 12th place with a time of 26:13.2.

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Lexie Nelson will play in Finland

Recent Eastern Washington University Women’s Basketball alumna Lexie Nelson has signed a contract to play professional basketball for Kotka Peli-Karhut in the Finnish SM-Sarja League.

Nelson was a three-time All-Big Sky selection while at EWU and averaged 14.6 points per game over three seasons. As a senior, she finished eighth in the Big Sky Conference with an average of 14.0 points per game and ranked fifth in three-point percentage (35.5 pct). She led the Eagles to the second round of the WNIT this past season, helping the program record its first-ever postseason win in the process.