ST. LOUIS, Mo.--No. 4 Eastern University Volleyball challenged No. 3 Washington University Friday night, but the Eagles quest to knock off the Bears fell short. The Eagles fell to the Bears in three sets, 18-25, 25-27, 23-25.

Prior to playing Washington University, Eastern held off the College of Mount St. Joseph, defeating the Lions in four sets, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 25-11. 

The loss to No. 3 Washington snapped Eastern's 21-game win streak that dated back to Sept. 10 when the Eagles lost to currently No. 2 Emory University.

Against Washington, Courtney Reinhold had a match-high 18 kills. Teammate Kearby Benak added eight kills and led the Eagles with 11 digs. Lauren Sproles contributed nine kills.

Against Mount St. Joseph, Reinhold and Benak recorded double-doubles in kills and digs. Reinhold had 19 kills and 10 digs while Benak had 10 kills and 11 digs. 

Maria Horning reached a milestone of 5,000 career assists when she set a ball to Courtney Reinhold in game three. Horning recorded 49 assists against Mount St. Joseph and 32 against Washington. 

As a team, the Eagles hit .250 while the Bears recorded a .346 percentage.

Coach Mark Birtwistle stressed how good a team Washington University was, but also noted that the two points that the Eagles lost by in the last two sets could have very well gone the Eagles' way. "We had our chances," he said. "There were some easy things we needed to take care of and that was the difference in winning or losing by two."

Birtwistle agreed that playing this level of competition would only help his players as the playoffs approach. "I think it's great," he said. "They know they can play with any team that's out there." 

in the first set against Washington University, Eastern jumped to an early lead. The Eagles scored the first four points, but the Bears stormed back to tie the game at 8-8. At 12-12, the Bears dealt out five straight points. The Eagles tried to climb out of the hole, but could not get closer than three points the rest of the set.

In the second set, the Eagles again started with the lead. The Eagles gave up the lead at 5-6, but would not give it up again until the Bears scored to take the lead at 25-24. Maria Horning converted a kill to knot the game at 25, but the Bears took the next two points to end the set.

Down two games to none, the Eagles found themselves in unfamiliar territory heading into game three. Eastern hadn't been down 0-2 since losing to Emory in three sets in October 2010. Midway through the set, Eastern led with the score 15-14, but suddenly Washington University's Lauren Budde scored three consecutive kills followed by Meghan Byrne scoring four kills.

The Eagles' Kearby Benak gained a point back, but they were still staring at a 16-21 deficit. Eastern scored the next two points and forced Washington University to call a timeout. The Bears responded with a point after the timeout, but Eastern's Courtney Reinhold recorded two more kills to narrow the gap to 20-22.

Reinhold earned another kill, but Washington added one of its own to put them at match point. The Eagles clawed back, scoring the next two points. The Bears called timeout, and when play resumed, the Bears' Drew Hargrave finished the Eagles off with a kill.

Washington University hosts the NCAA Division III volleyball championship. "Our goal is to be back here in three weeks," Birtwistle said. 

Eastern plays Concordia University Saturday at 10 am (Central) and finishes the Washington University Halloween Classic at 12:15 pm (Central) against Hanover College. The weekend tournament concludes the Eagles' regular season. The Eagles will return home to host the Freedom Conference semifinals against Delaware Valley College on Wednesday.

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