SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Eastern Washington University volleyball team dropped to Incarnate Word this morning (Sept. 15) on the final day of the Cardinal Classic. The Eagles took the first set, 30-28 but suffered a 3-1 loss (30-28, 24-26, 17-25, 19-25).
 
"I thought that Incarnate Word was out and ready to play. We weren't our normal selves, I'm not sure if it was the quick turnaround, but we just didn't seem ready to go. We did a lot of great things but we just couldn't capitalize on it, we need to be better about capitalizing on things when we're doing well," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "I thought Kaitlin Sugai and Kamille Langford did a great job today. We did some things offensively, but couldn't sustain it."
 
Set one was closely contested as the Eagles fought off set point five times to take the opening frame in extra points, 30-28. Neither side was able to lead by more than three points throughout the opening parts of the set. Trailing 24-22, Eastern Washington would call timeout. A bad set from UIW and back-to-back blocks from Alexandra Espinosa and Kamille Langford helped the Eagles pull ahead 25-24. With the set tied 26-26, UIW would pull ahead and EWU faced set point once more. Another block from Espinosa and Langford tied it up 27-27. The two teams then found themselves tied at 28-28 when another Cardinal ball handling error put Eastern up 29-28. Catelyn Linke then delivered the set-winning kill and the Eagles took set one in extra points.
 
The second set was just as close, but this time it was the Cardinals who came from behind to win in extra points, 26-24. Midway through the set, both sides were tied 16-16. Later in the set, a kill from Kamille Langford helped the Eagles pull ahead 23-20 and later held set point, 24-21 following a kill from Linke. The Cardinals then exploded on a 5-0 run to close the second set, tying the match at 1-1.
 
Eastern Washington struggled to find momentum in the third set. UIW used a 6-0 run to pull ahead 15-9. Another 8-0 run put the Cardinals up 22-13. Eastern would bounce back with a 4-0 run of their own to pull within six points, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals claimed set three 25-17 and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Although the fourth frame was a closely contested battle, EWU played from behind nearly the entire time. Eastern only trailed 20-17, but the Cardinals used a 5-0 run to close the fourth set and win 25-19, taking the match 3-1.
 
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: With the loss, Eastern drops to 8-4 on the year while the Cardinals improve to 1-8. This was the first time in program history that the Eagles and UIW have faced each other.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: Both Catelyn Linke and Alexandra Espinosa led the Eagles with 11 kills. Linke also had 18 digs for a double-double. Grace Nelson and Kennedy Kaminsky each had two service aces. Kamille Langford and Kaitlin Sugai led the way at the net with eight and six blocks, respectively. Puaoolelagi Sao led the team with 22 digs and Samantha Boever had 37 assists. Espinosa was named to the all-tournament team.
 
KEY STATS: The Eagles outblocked the Cardinals 10-7, but had less service aces, 7-5. UIW was also able to hit .250 limited Eastern to a .173 clip.
 
WHAT IT MEANS: Today served as the final non-conference match of the 2018 season. The Eagles finished preseason 8-4 and will now prepare for its Big Sky Conference slate.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles take to Reese Court for their season opener and the start of Big Sky Conference play on Tuesday, Sept. 18 when they host Idaho at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Admission to all regular season volleyball matches are complimentary to the public.
 
Following the match against the Vandals, Eastern hits the road again on Sept. 22 when they face Northern Colorado at 6 p.m. PT.
 
MORE FROM COACH FLORES-CLOUD:
 
On Strong Performances and Battling Adversity: "We did a great job blocking today but we needed to back it up with better serving. I also thought we needed to do a better job with that yesterday. We had a whirlwind before the match with a rainstorm so they had to delay us and move to a practice gym. It was a weird deal, but something we should've been able to work through."
 
On the Home Opener on Tuesday: "I think that Idaho had an unexpected loss to someone that we already beat this season, so that helps our team morale. It just goes to show that anybody can beat anybody on any given day and we're really hoping for a good day on Tuesday. It will come down to how fast we can get settled in our own gym."