CHENEY, Wash. – Eager to face a team other than themselves, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is headed to California this weekend (Aug. 24-25) to open the 2018 season. The Eagles will play in three matches over two days at the Titan Classic, hosted by UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton.
The season officially begins on Friday at 11 a.m. when EWU faces UMass Lowell. Saturday begins with another 11 a.m. match against Akron before wrapping up competition against UC Riverside at 7 p.m.
This weekend begins a new era under first-year head coach
Leslie Flores-Cloud. Flores-Cloud and the Eagles look to get back to the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016 after compiling an overall record of 7-18 (4-12 in conference play) a season ago. In all, the Eagles lost eight players from last year's roster but return three starters and reloaded the talent
with 11 newcomers.
All-Time Series:
The Eagles and the UMass Lowell River Hawks face off for the first time in program history. Eastern is 1-0 all-time against teams from the America East Conference after picking up a five-set win over Binghamton last season.
Eastern Washington will also face the Akron Zips for the first time in program history on Saturday morning. The Eagles are just 1-4 all-time against programs from the MAC.
Saturday night marks the third all-time meeting between Eastern and UC Riverside with both teams owning one win apiece. The two teams first met during the 1987 season where Eastern picked up a 3-1 decision. They did not meet again until 2012, where the Eagles were swept 3-0.
Get to Know UMass Lowell:
UMass Lowell finished 5-21 overall last year and 0-12 in AEC play. They are coached by Resa Provanzano and return Katherine Claybaugh who led the team in kills last season with 272. Friday morning also serves as the season opener for the River Hawks.
Get to Know Akron:
The Akron Zips are coached by Tom Hanna who begins his fourth-year at the helm. They return 10 players from a season ago and add five newcomers. They were picked to finish sixth in the East division of the MAC Preseason poll after finishing 6-22 overall last season and 2-13 in conference play. They return Kayla Gwozdz who led the team with 290 kills (3.37/set) last season and Taylor Sharrits who led the Zips with 419 digs (4.07/set).
Get to Know UC Riverside:
The Highlanders are coached by Michelle Patton-Coleman, who led UC Riverside to a 10-18 record last season, 2-14 in Big West play. They return Kaiulani Ahuna who led the team with 229 kills (2.94/set) and Nicole Rodriguez who led the team in digs with 404 (3.92/set). The Highlanders play Big Sky foe Montana and UMass Lowell before taking on the Eagles on Saturday.
Meet the Returners:
Eastern Washington welcomes back sophomore libero
Catelyn Linke, sophomore outside hitter
MaKenna Davis, redshirt-senior middle blocker
Taylor Larsen, junior outside hitter
Kahle Elliott and senior outside hitter
Alexandra Espinosa.
Linke appeared in 23 matches as a freshman and ranked fourth on the team in digs, averaging 3.37 per set. Elliot started 15 matches a season ago and ranked fourth on the team with 120 kills while Larsen ranked second on the team with 129, averaging 1.68 per set. Both Davis and Espinosa's seasons were cut short due to injury, but Espinosa managed 1.84 kills per set in the 50 sets she appeared in. Espinosa garnered three double-doubles last season while Linke had two and Davis had one.
Meet the Newcomers:
Flores-Cloud hit the recruiting trail hard almost immediately after taking over the helm. She brought in three transfers to add to a class of eight that had committed to the program last fall.
The Eagles welcome four transfers and seven freshmen to this year's squad. Junior setter
Samantha Boever joined the team this past winter after two years at Northern Illinois. Sophomore middle blocker
Kamille Langford (Saint Martin's), sophomore setter
ShaRae Niu (Hawaii Hilo) and sophomore defensive specialist
Puaoolelagi Sao (Winthrop) also bring veteran experience to a young group.
Also making their Eagle, and collegiate, debuts are outside hitter
Parker Buddy (Reno, Nev./Reno HS), defensive specialist
Katie Coulter (Phoenix, Ariz./Veritas Preparatory Academy), middle blocker
Kennedy Kaminsky (Chandler, Ariz./Perry HS), outside hitter
Alexis Keith (Gilbert, Ariz./Perry HS), outside hitter
Grace Nelson (Eugene, Ore./Sheldon HS), right side hitter
Kaitlin Sugai (Puyallup, Wash./Puyallup HS) and middle blocker
Kassandra Thomazin (Renton, Wash./Oliver M. Hazen HS).
Up Next:
The Eagles play in the UND Classic, hosted by former Big Sky foe North Dakota. Eastern plays in four matches over three days, beginning with the Fighting Hawks on Aug. 30. Matches against Louisiana Tech and Western Carolina take place on Aug. 31 while one final match against Louisiana Tech kicks off September.
