Eastern Kentucky University Athletics

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior setter Emilee Hill recorded a triple-double to lead Eastern Kentucky to a 3-1 victory over Utah State on Saturday at the Bluegrass Battle hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
 
The Colonels (2-0) won by scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22.
 
EKU's two wins this season have come against a pair of teams that played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.  Eastern beat South Florida 3-2 on Friday.  Utah State knocked off Tennessee in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament before falling to Arizona State.  The Aggies were 24-8 overall and 18-0 in the Mountain West Conference.
 
Hill's triple-double was the 16th of her career.  She finished with 15 kills, 27 assists and 11 digs.  The United Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year made only two errors in 27 attempts for a .481 attack percentage.  She also had three blocks.
 
Eastern Kentucky had a 10-5 edge in blocks and out-hit the Aggies .305 to .235.  The Colonels made only 15 errors in 128 attacks.
 
With a 20-19 lead in the first set, Utah State scored three straight points to take control of the opener.  An EKU attack error ended the frame 25-20.
 
The Aggies scored the first point of the second set, but the Colonels scored the next four and led the rest of the way.  A kill from Hill and a USU attack error pushed the lead to five, 9-4.  A run of four unanswered put EKU in front by six, 15-9.  An ace off the serve of Addison Burke made it a 7-point lead, 19-12.  Utah State climbed back to within three, 24-21, before Burke ended it with a kill.
 
Eastern took the lead for good in the third set when an attack error put the Colonels in front 5-4.  A kill by Audrey Hudson and another Utah State attack error stretched the margin to five, 10-5.  A kill from Hill and a USU attack error put EKU ahead by six, 13-7.  Three straight points – a kill from Hill, an ace by Burke and another kill by Hill – had the Colonels out in front by eight, 20-12.  Back-to-back kills from Hudson and Emma Closurdo ended the set, 25-18, and put Eastern Kentucky on top 2-1 in the match.
 
Ava Napierski's kill early in the fourth set handed the Aggies an 8-6 advantage.  However, the Colonels rolled off a 9-1 run to build a 6-point cushion.  Closurdo's kill gave the lead to EKU, 9-8.  Alexis Bull capped the run with a kill for a 15-9 edge.  Three straight scores – a kill from Closurdo, and two straight blocks from Caitlyn Flees and Hill – made it an 8-point lead at 19-11. 
 
A 5-1 run by Utah State cut the deficit in half and closed the gap to 20-16.  Justyna Novakova's kill closed it to a 3-point game, 21-18.  USU got within two, 22-20, on an EKU attack error.  Lauren Bodily's kill kept the margin at two, 23-21.  After a kill from Closurdo gave the Colonels match-point, 24-21, another kill from Novakova cut it to two again, 24-22.  However, Burke ended the match with a kill on the next series.
 
Closurdo had 15 kills and only two errors in 27 attempts for a .481 hitting percentage.  She also had five blocks.  Hudson added 11 kills and 13 digs.
 
Bodily had a match-best 17 kills for Utah State (0-2).  She made only three errors and had a .350 attack percentage.
 
EKU will return to action on Friday at the GATA Challenge hosted by Georgia Southern in Statesboro.  The Colonels will play Radford at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, face Prairie View A&M at 11 a.m. on Saturday and wrap up the event against host Georgia Southern at 1 p.m. on Sunday.