Third-seeded Eastern Washington, which hadn’t beaten the Hornets in Sacramento since 1996 (a span of seven-straight losses), improved its record to 20-5 with the win. It marked the Eagles’ first Big Sky Tournament championship since 1989. With the loss, Sacramento State (No. 1 seed) dropped to 20-9 overall. The Hornets are now on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 29. The NCAA Championship field of 64 teams will be announced on Monday, Nov. 26, at noon PST.

Before tonight, Sacramento State had defeated Eastern Washington twice during the regular season by identical 3-0 scores.

Eastern Washington’s Robyn Felder led all players with 19 kills and Janelle Ruen (18), Lindsay Crandell (16), Monica Lynch (11) and Lindsay Page (11) also recorded double figures in kills. Ruen, who was named the tournament’s MVP, also hit .318 hitting and had a match-high 24 digs. Felder and Crandell were also named to the Big Sky all-tournament team.

Sacramento State was led by Tasman Dwyer, who finished with 16 kills and a .350 hitting percentage. Junior Jayme Wright (13 kills, team-high 21 digs) and sophomore Kazmiera Imrie (10 kills, 13 digs and four blocks) also contributed for the Hornets. Dwyer and Wright were both named to the all-tournament team.

Eastern Washington hit .316 in the match and recorded a hitting percentage above .300 in every frame with the exception of game three (.280). Conversely, the Hornets hit just .199 and were outdug, 97-79. Eastern Washington also held the advantage in kills (83-62) and assists (78-58).

With the score tied, 27-27, in game four, the Eagles ran off the last three points of the match for the victory. A kill by Lynch and consecutive kills by Ruen accounted for the 3-0 run and ended the match in a time of exactly two hours.

Sacramento State, which became the first team in Big Sky history to record five-consecutive regular season conference championships, has zero matches remaining on its regular season schedule.

The 2001 Div. I Women’s Volleyball Selection Show next Monday, Nov. 26, can be seen with the use of a small consumer DSS dish such as DirecTV or Dish Network. Fox Sports Net South (DirecTV 630/Dish Network 420), Fox Sports Net West 2 (DirecTV 653), Fox Sports Net Arizona (DirecTV 649/Dish Network 415) and Empire Sports (DirecTV 626/Dish Network 432) will each air the show live.

2001 All-Big Sky Tournament Team

Janelle Ruen, Eastern Washington (MVP)

Robyn Felder, Eastern Washington

Lindsay Crandell, Eastern Washington

Tasman Dwyer, Sacramento State

Jayme Wright, Sacramento State

Joy Deatherage, Idaho State

Lorraine Morrison, Montana State