Eagles Seek Title
Pam Parks says the pressure is on. And it’s doesn’t just apply to the Eastern Washington volleyball team.
“Every team is feeling the end-of-the-season pressure,” said the Eagles’ coach the day before the start of the Big Sky Conference tournament in Sacramento, Calif.
The Eagles (20-7) missed the opportunity to host the conference tournament by losing to Montana State 3-2 and following with another five-game loss at Montana during the final regular-season weekend.
Sac State (20-7) won both its matches, but it too was stretched to five games both nights. The Hornets won the regular-season title for the right to host the tournament. Both No. 1 Sac State and No. 2 Eastern received first-round byes and will await tonight’s winner of the No. 3 Montana State (20-9) vs. No. 6 Cal State Northridge (9-10) match and the No. 4 Northern Arizona (15-9) vs. No. 5 Montana (18-8) match.
Eastern will play the highest seed remaining at 5 p.m. Friday. The championship match will be 7 p.m. Saturday.
If the seeds hold, Sacramento State and Eastern will meet in the finals for the second straight year. The Hornets won last year and earned the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Eastern received an at-large bid for the first time since 1989.
The Hornets are hot, winning 14 of their last 15 matches and nine straight. Although they were upset at home by Montana on Oct. 14, Sac State is tough at Hornet Gym. The last time Eastern beat Sac State in Sacramento was Sept. 26, 1996. The two split the regular-season matches this season, but the Hornets hold a 7-3 edge in the series.
“Beating Sac in Sacramento is a big hurdle, there’s no question about it. But our hurdle now is winning the first match,” Parks said.
The Eagles swept Northridge and split with Montana, Montana State and NAU during the regular season.
Eastern reserve hitter Tamara Van Engelen will not play. She broke three fingers in her right hand in practice last week and did not play against Montana.
Cougars at Stanford, Cal
Washington State (13-11, 7-9) finishes the conference season at No. 2 Stanford (23-2, 15-1) tonight and California (10-15, 5-11) Friday.
“You can say everybody loses to Stanford, but losing to Cal would be very detrimental,” WSU coach Cindy Fredrick said. “It would come out as a bad loss for us because they’re ranked below us and it would hurt us.”
The seventh-place Cougars are clinging to the possibility of earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. They are ranked 10th in the NCAA Division I District 8 rankings.
It would enhance its chances next weekend with a good showing at the Pacific Bankers Classic in Stockton, Calif. It opens against Notre Dame on Nov. 26 and plays either No. 5 Pacific or Sac State on Nov. 27.
Idaho’s Lynch honored
Idaho’s Shalyne Lynch earned Big West Conference second-team honors. The 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter from White Rock, British Columbia, leads the Vandals with 3.53 kills per game and is second in hitting with a .251 percentage.
Long Beach State’s Brandy Barratt, formerly of Gonzaga Prep, also was named to the second team.
Pacific’s Elsa Stegemann and UC Santa Barbara’s Roberta Gehlke were the conference co-players of the year while Pacific coach John Dunning earned coach of the year honors.
The Vandals (16-14) wrap up their season Nov. 26-27 at the Idaho Challenge in Moscow against Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Boise State.
Other matches
The Community Colleges of Spokane begins the NWAACC postseason play today at 4 when it takes on Mt. Hood Community College. Lower Columbia, Bellevue, Big Bend, Clackamas, Skagit Valley and Green River are also at the tournament which is at Green River Community College.
The Zags (5-22, 1-12 WCC) close out the conference season against Portland (2-23, 0-13) on Saturday at Martin Centre.