Eagles Continue To Master Vandals Ewu Makes It Four In A Row Over Idaho In Volleyball

Tarah Pond said losing to the University of Idaho volleyball team is not in Eastern Washington University’s vocabulary.

“We don’t lose to them. Period,” said Eastern’s spunky 5-foot-3 defensive specialist.

A cocky comment, indeed, but in this case accurate. Pond and five other Eagles seniors have never experienced disappointment when facing their former Big Sky Conference rival.

The senior six-pack’s latest success story was a 15-8, 15-8, 15-7 slam dunk over the Vandals before 1,042 fans at Reese Court on Tuesday. It was the fourth straight year the Eagles have defeated the Vandals after losing to them 10 straight times - nine by the score of 3-0 - dating back to 1991. The two will meet again at the Vandals’ Thanksgiving tournament on Nov. 27.

Tuesday’s win allowed the Eagles to reach the 20-win plateau at 20-4 with conference opponents Cal State Northridge coming in Thursday and Northern Arizona on Saturday. The Vandals dropped to 14-12.

“It was kinda nice going in and taking charge,” said Eagles senior Whitney Lewis, who had three kills on efficient .429 hitting.

Lewis’ only disappointment was she didn’t get to play against her old high school rival Anna Reznicek. The Vandals’ 6-foot-2 outside hitter has been out since the middle of October because of a bad back. The Hermiston, Ore., athlete also has a virus and spent the weekend in the hospital, where she was treated for dehydration.

To add to Idaho’s weakness, senior standout Shalyne Lynch injured her right ankle when she came down hard after a kill in the opening game. She spent the rest of the match on the bench. At the time, the Vandals were behind 12-7.

“I don’t know if they were rattled because of the injury, because of their youth, the crowd. It’s hard to play in someone else’s gym. We know that with Sac,” said coach Pam Parks, whose Eagles had their 10-match winning streak snapped last weekend at Sacramento State.

This time, the Eagles were in control throughout with their excellent ball handling and quick defense. They outblocked the Vandals 9-3 and hit .275.

Idaho, which often played four freshmen, including setter Jocelynne Wionzek, hit .038. Its poor attacking showed early. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first game, the Vandals committed six straight errors. Jennifer Gabel landed one of her seven kills after that to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead. In the second game, the Eagles jumped ahead 7-0.

The closest the Vandals got in the third game was 6-4, but Eastern answered with an 8-1 run. They closed the match on their fifth match point when Angie Hall and Stephanie Dahlstedt put up a clean block. Dahlstedt had a match-high 10 kills on .353 hitting. Regan Butler led the Vandals with eight kills on .190 hitting.

“They’re more of a mature team than we are,” Idaho coach Carl Ferreira said. “They’ve got depth and excellent leadership.”