CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University volleyball team continues its season-opening road trip this weekend, as the Eagles will participate in their second-straight weekend tournament, this time traveling to Phoenix, Arizona to play in the Grand Canyon University Tournament.
EWU opens its weekend in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 2, with a 3:30 p.m. matchup against Cal State Fullerton. Eastern concludes its stay in Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 3, with a pair of matches against the host Lopes at 9 a.m. before ending the weekend with a 4 p.m. match against Eastern Kentucky.
Eastern Washington stands at 1-2 after the opening weekend of play. The Eagles opened 2016 on a strong note, as they hit a season-best .345 en route to a straight-set victory over Lamar in the first match of the Bulldog Invitational in Starkville, Mississippi last Friday, Sept. 1. Eastern would drop its next two matches to No. 5 Kansas and host Mississippi State, yet despite the loss, the Eagles improved on their point total in each set of both matches and pushed the two Power Five schools in the third set before suffering a 3-0 setback twice.
Last Time Out
The Eagles ended their season-opening weekend in Starkville, Mississippi State with a 3-0 (15-25, 19-25, 22-25) loss to the host Bulldogs. Eastern got a season-best nine kills from junior Ashley Seiler, who also posted a career-best 14 digs against the Bulldogs. Sophomore Jessica Gilbert added eight kills, en route to being named to the Bulldog Invitational All-Tournament team.
Senior Sophie Miller was also named to the Bulldog Invitational All-Tournament team. She handed out a team-best 67 assists in three matches. Last weekend marked a return to the setter position for Miller, as she spent all last season at the right side.
All-Time Series
Cal State Fullerton: The Titans hold a 4-2 advantage in the brief series between the two programs. CSF has won each of the last two meetings, which includes a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) decision in the last matchup on Sept. 2, 2011. Eastern's last victory in the series came on Sept. 9, 1994.
Grand Canyon & Eastern Kentucky: This weekend will mark the first time the Eagles have played the Antelopes and Colonels in volleyball.
Conference Rankings
Senior setter Sophie Miller ranked eighth in the Big Sky in assists-per-set with a 7.44 average, while junior libero Megan LaFond is ninth in the league in digs-per-set at 4.22.
An Opener for the Books
Sophomore Jessica Gilbert had an outstanding start to her 2016 season, as she posted a season-best 13 kills and hit an impressive .765 in the season-opening win over Lamar last Friday, Aug. 26. Gilbert's impressive hitting percentage would have set the school record for highest hitting percentage in a match, however, she was just three attempts short (17) of the minimum 20 attempts to qualify for the list.
It's Like Riding a Bike
Senior Sophie Miller's transition back to setter seems to be complete, as the Federal Way, Washington native handed out a team-best 67 assists in three matches at the Bulldog Invitational. The senior was transitioning back to her natural position in the offseason after spending the 2015 season as a right side hitter.
Miller opened 2016 with a season-best 28 assists in the straight-set victory over Lamar last Friday. It was the first 20-assist match for Miller since her sophomore season, when she handed out 26 assists in the season finale against North Dakota. Miller also had a 21 assists against Mississippi State to give her two 20-assist matches during the season-opening weekend.
Brazilian Flair
Sophomore Fernanda Vido got her 2016 campaign off to a strong start, as she collected a total of 18 kills in three matches at the Bulldog Invitational. She collected a career-best eight kills and hit an impressive .333 in the season-opening victory over Lamar.
A Career Weekend for the Home Kid
Cheney, Washington native Ashley Seiler set a new career high in digs in back-to-back matches at the Bulldog Invitational. The outside hitter recorded her first career double-digit assist match with 10 against No. 5 Kansas last Saturday morning, Aug. 27.
Later that night, Seiler surpassed her new career-best mark in digs by collecting 14 against host Mississippi State in Saturday's night cap. Seiler was just one kill away from posting the team's first double-double of the season, as she collected a season-best of nine against the Bulldogs.
Knowing Your Opponent: Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton enters the weekend at an even 2-2. They went 2-1 at the UT Chattanooga Tournament, defeating Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State before falling to the host Mocs. The Titans dropped their home opener to Niagara in four sets this past Tuesday, Aug. 30.
Fullerton is averaging 12.23 kills per set, while they are hitting .174 as a team. Sophomore Madeline Schneider leads the team in kills with 52. She is also averaging four kills per set and is hitting .139 on the year. The outside hitter had an outstanding season-opening match, as she posted 20 kills and hit .316 in a 3-0 win over Mississippi Valley State. Fellow sophomore Shimen Fayad is right behind Schneider's kill total with 47.
Schneider also leads the team in digs after four matches with 42. As a team, the Titans are posting a 15.62 digs-per-set average. Freshman setter Rachel Hall is second on the team in digs with 38. Schneider has already posted three double-doubles in four matches, while Hall has recorded one double-double.
Knowing Your Opponent: Grand Canyon
The host Antelopes are riding high going into their tournament, as they went 2-1 at the Air Force Academy Tournament. Grand Canyon dropped its season-opening match in five sets to fellow Big Sky Conference school, Montana State, then went out to defeat Jacksonville State in three sets and host Air Force in five.
GCU is hitting .226 as a team and is averaging 11.2 kills-per-set through three matches. Junior Natalie Tardy leads the team in kills with 42. She has tallied double-digit kills in all three matches this season and enters the weekend off a season-best 18-kill performance. Tardy has also recorded one double-double this season with 12 kills and 10 digs in the season-opening loss to Montana State.
The Lopes have turned in strong performances on the defensive side of the court in 2016, as they are holding teams to a .185 hitting percentage. As a team, GCU is averaging 13.6 digs-per-set and 2.8 blocks-per-set. Freshman Emma Ahern leads the team in digs with 42, while junior Hannah Hicks has already collected 19 total blocks this season, with a team-best two solo blocks.
Knowing Your Opponent: Eastern Kentucky
For Eastern Kentucky, the Colonels will be the lone team coming to Phoenix without a tally in the win column, yet they will come in battle tested, as they faced elite competition at the Duke Invitational last weekend. EKU drop its season-opening match to LSU in straight sets, and pushed the host Blue Devils to five sets before falling. Eastern Kentucky dropped another five-set match in the weekend finale, this time dropping a match to UNC-Greensboro.
The Colonels enter this weekend with a .126 hitting percentage, while averaging 11.77 kills-per-set. Junior Celina Sanks paces the team with 40 kills, while junior Ciera Koons leads the team with a .256 hitting percentage. Sanks is coming off back-to-back stellar performances, as she tallied 15 kills against Duke and 19 kill in her last match against UNC Greensboro.
Defensively, teams are hitting .239 against EKU. The Colonels are averaging 15.62 digs-per-set, with junior Mallory Maxwell leading Eastern Kentucky with 62. She is averaging 4.77 digs-per-set, and is coming off back-to-back 20-dig efforts with 23 at Duke and 21 against UNC Greensboro.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter, or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
