Eagles Win Big Sky Opener

College volleyball

Sophomore Kim Exner had 13 kills and 12 digs to lead Eastern Washington to a 15-12, 6-15, 15-8, 15-7 volleyball victory over Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams Thursday night at Reese Court.

The Eagles (6-3) were picked to finish seventh in the conference this year while the Lumberjacks (5-7) were picked to finish second after a third-place finish a year ago.

“That was a huge win, especially because it was our first Big Sky match,” Eastern head coach Pamela Parks said. “It was against one of the Big Sky’s toughest teams and a good early test for us.”

Eastern fell behind in the first game 11-6, but scored eight straight points and eventually won 15-12. After splitting the next two games, Eastern scored 10 straight points in the fourth game to close out the match with a 15-7 win.

Idaho downs GU

The University of Idaho Vandals struggled at times, but came out ahead, winning their non-conference volleyball match against Gonzaga in Moscow, Idaho.

Sophomore Jessica Moore had 14 kills to lead the Vandals to the 15-6, 15-8, 15-13 victory that ended their preconference schedule with a 10-1 record.

“Today was bittersweet,” said Idaho coach Tom Hilbert. “I thought at times we played real good. That last game showed a lot of character. It’s exciting for me to see our team fight back like that.”

It was a steady, chipping away effort rather than a long run that enabled the Vandals to win the final game for the sweep - their seventh 3-0 victory of the season.

Pac-10 competition begins

Washington State (8-1) easily took care of business at Idaho earlier this week, beating the Vandals (8-1) in three games. Now it’s time to begin taking care of business in the Pac-10 Conference.

Play begins tonight at 7:30 when the sixth-ranked Cougars travel to No. 24 Washington. The Huskies (9-1) moved into the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll this week after upsetting No. 19 Pacific.

“Washington’s got an outstanding team,” said WSU coach Cindy Fredrick, whose team trails the series 34-13. “They finally got in the rankings this week and should have been for a long time.”

The Huskies’ big hitter is 6-foot-4 senior Angela Branson of Eugene, Ore. Branson was named AVCA player of the week and Pac-10 player of the week this week after leading the Huskies to wins over New Mexico (3-1), Montana (3-0) and Pacific 6-2) at the University of New Mexico tournament.

, DataTimes