KIRKLAND – Eastern Oregon made small rallies to come from behind in two sets and grabbed a 3-0 sweep of Northwest Friday night.
 
The Eagles lost 25-21, 25-21, 25-12, but can salvage a postseason berth on Saturday with a win. 
 
NU enters the final day of the regular season in a three-way tie with Lewis-Clark State and the College of Idaho for the final two postseason berths in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Evergreen State is a game off the pace but faces a tough EOU squad Saturday.
 
NU can claim a postseason berth by knocking off College of Idaho in their match at 5 p.m., Saturday.
 
"Eastern Oregon played well, and while we were able to match their intensity at times, we were unable to sustain our effort. When the sets were on the line, Eastern made the plays, and we did not," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "We will reset and look forward to giving a great effort in our final home match of the season."
 
Northwest had an 8-3 lead in the first set, but the Mountaineers chipped away and took a 20-19 edge. The Eagles got the lead back, 21-20, on a kill by Megan Horne and a block by Anna Saelens and Abigail Broussard, but EOU finished off the match on a 5-0 run.
 
NU led 19-13 in the second set, but again Eastern rallied, using a pair of 5-0 runs to take control.
 
Susanna Bailey led the Eagles with 13 kills, and Saelens added 27 assists. Savannah Hale led with 13 digs, with Cristina Lorenz and Kelsey Cummins getting 10 each.
 
Azaria Johnson, Saelens, Broussard, and Kalei Kepler had two block assists each.
 
NU celebrates six seniors Saturday, recognizing Broussard, Saelens, Horne, Lorenz, Jill Botsford, and Vanessa Franke.