CHENEY, Wash. – Heading into the second weekend of competition for the 2017 season, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is headed to Berkeley, Calif., for the Cal Classic. The Eagles will face Texas Tech, host school Cal, and Dartmouth over two days of play from Sept. 1-2. EWU opens the classic with a single match against Texas Tech at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sept. 1. On Saturday (Sept. 2), the Eagles face Cal at 10 a.m. before wrapping up competition against Dartmouth at 5 p.m.
EAGLE LEADERS: Ashley Seiler is currently leading the team and the Big Sky Conference in kills with 57 (4.38/set). As of Wednesday (Aug. 30), Seiler ranks 23rd in the nation in total kills and 40th in kills per set. The next best is Taylor Larsen who has 20 and is hitting at a .183 clip with only nine errors in 60 attempts. Seiler also leads the team with five service aces and is second with 34 digs (2.62/set).
Regan Harr has dished out 66 assists, good for 5.08 per set. Senior Megan LaFond leads the team with 50 digs (3.85/set) and freshman Jayde Robertsen has put up a team-leading 12 blocks.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Washington opened the 2017 campaign at the UNLV Invitational on Aug. 25-26, posting a 1-2 record for the weekend. In Friday's 3-1 loss to UC Davis to open the season, Ashley Seiler garnered the team's first double-double of the year, recording 13 kills and 10 digs. In addition, six players made their debuts for the Eagles.
The first win of the season came against Binghamton in five sets. The Eagles came from behind 2-1 in the fourth set and faced match point five separate times. Seiler was on fire again as she recorded a career high 28 kills and totaled 18 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
In the UNLV Invitational finale, the Eagles took the first set from the tournament hosts but ended up falling 3-1. Seiler led the team in kills again, this time with 16, and was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend.
GET TO KNOW THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech opened its season with a victory over North Texas last weekend. The Red Raiders were scheduled to play four matches at the Barcelona HBU Classic in Houston, but the tournament was canceled due to Hurricane Harvey. They will play at UTEP on Wednesday (Aug. 31) before facing Eastern in the first match of the Cal Classic. Emily Hill recorded a double-double in the win with 17 kills and 11 digs in the opener. She currently leads the Big 12 in points, averaging 5.25 per set while also adding 4.25 kills a set. Last season, TTU posted a 10-21 overall record and went 0-16 in the Big 12. They bring in nine newcomers in 2017, including four transfers and five freshmen.
SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series sits at 1-1, with Eastern Washington claiming a 3-1 neutral site victory the last time the teams met on Sept. 7, 2013. The programs first faced each other in September of 1989 where EWU lost in five sets. The Eagles are 3-7 all-time against Big 12 programs.
GET TO KNOW THE GOLDEN BEARS: Cal is 2-1 overall after notching victories over Loyola Chicago and Seattle at the Cal Molten Classic last weekend. The Bears are holding their opponents to just a .173 hitting percentage and notched 20 service aces over 12 sets last weekend. Antzela Dempi leads the way with six service aces and Mima Mirkovic brings the offensive attack with 35 kills. Cal is under first-year head coach Matt McShane and boasts the nation's No. 15 recruiting class according to PrepVolleyball.com.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the fifth meeting between the two programs, dating back to 1990. The Eagles are 0-4 all-time against the Bears, with the last loss coming in straight sets back on Aug. 29, 2015. In fact, Eastern has only been able to take one set from Cal out of 13. EWU is 19-51 all-time against Pac 12 programs.
GET TO KNOW THE BIG GREEN: This weekend is the first weekend of competition for Dartmouth. The Big Green return nine players from the 2016 squad after losing eight to graduation. The 2017 team features seven newcomers, six of which are freshmen. Dartmouth finished 9-16 overall last season with a 2-12 mark in Ivy League play.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first meeting between the two teams in program history. EWU has only faced one other Ivy League program in the past, owning a 1-0 record as they swept Brown in straight sets in 2003.
UP NEXT: The Eagles head out to the East coast for their final tournament before a bye weekend and the beginning of Big Sky play. EWU opens competition at the Canisius Invitational against Charlotte on Sept. 8. On Sept. 9, Eastern takes on Bucknell before wrapping up nonconference play against Canisius. Eagle fans have their first chance to check out the team during the opening weekend of Big Sky play, as they play host to Montana (Sept. 21) and Montana State (Sept. 23). Matches are complimentary to the public as a part of the Eagsperience Eastern campaign.
EAGSPIERIENCE EASTERN: Mark your calendars! The Eastern Washington University Athletic Department is inviting fans to "Eagsperience" Eastern with over 40 complimentary home events during the 2017-18 athletic seasons. All events take place on the campus of Eastern Washington and include volleyball, a program record 11 home soccer matches, and two women's basketball games. Men's and women's tennis home matches, track and field meets and football scrimmages are also open and complimentary to the public.
For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.
