CHENEY, Wash. – After four weeks of nonconference tournaments on the road, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team opens up the 2018 Big Sky Conference slate on Tuesday, Sept. 18 inside Reese Court for its home opener against Idaho. The match begins at 6 p.m. Pacific time and admission is complimentary to the public. The first 100 students will receive free pizza.
HOW TO WATCH: Fans can follow the match on WatchBigSky.com or on Pluto TV Channel 234. Additionally, live stats will be available on EWUStats.com. All regular season volleyball home matches are complimentary to the public with all the matches being played inside of Reese Court.
Match Information
| Date |
Sept. 18 |
| Location |
Cheney, Wash.
Reese Court |
| Opponent |
Idaho
6 p.m. |
| Live & Stream Stats |
Stats | Stream
Pluto TV Ch. 234 |
| Twitter |
@EWUVB |
| Match Notes |
Coming Soon |
THE MATCHUP: Eastern Washington, who was picked 11
th out of 11 teams in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll, enters the match with the best record in the conference at 8-4. The Vandals were the preseason favorites and they come into the match with an overall record of 6-6.
GET TO KNOW THE EAGLES: The Eagles are currently 8-4 overall, which is the best record in the league. Northern Arizona follows closely behind with a record of 8-5. EWU is coming off a weekend that saw them go 1-1 at the Cardinal Classic, sweeping Alcorn State and falling to Incarnate Word in four sets.
Eastern Washington has three players that average over two kills per set in
Alexandra Espinosa (2.87),
Kennedy Kaminsky (2.25) and
Kamille Langford (2.17). Kaminsky, a freshman, has the most kills out of the trio with 99. She also leads EWU with a hitting percentage of .245 (99k-30e-282ta).
Junior
Samantha Boever paces Eastern's offense with 9.45 assists per set, totaling 416 total assists on the year which is seventh in the conference.
Catelyn Linke averages 0.41 services aces per set with 18 total aces which ranks in the top-five in the Big Sky, followed by
MaKenna Davis who averages 0.32 with 14.
The Eagles also have two players that average over three digs per set in
Puaoolelagi Sao with 3.72, totaling 160 and Linke who averages 3.32 with 146 total digs. Davis has also totaled 105 with 2.39 per set.
Defensively,
Kamille Langford leads the Eagles with 39 total blocks, averaging .78/set. Kaminsky averages .73 blocks per set with 32 total.
As a team, the Eagles swing at a .188 clip and average 11.93 kills per set. They also average 17.32 digs/set which is second among Big Sky foes and 1.92 blocks/set. They also average 1.45 service aces per set, which ranks third in the conference. EWU limits their opponents to just a .185 clip, which is second in the Big Sky.
GET TO KNOW THE VANDALS: Idaho is 6-6 on the season and is coming off a 1-2 weekend with losses to UCF (0-3) and UC Riverside (2-3) and a win over Cal State Fullerton (3-1). EWU faced UC Riverside earlier this season and topped the Highlanders in five sets.
The Vandals are led offensively by Kaela Straw and Reece Carman who average 3.64 and 3.13 kills/set, respectively, with 171 and 97 on the year. Straw is swinging at a .321 clip.
Haylee Mathis paces the Vandal offense with 9.89 assists per set, totaling 465 this season. Alycia Wodke leads the Vandals with 4.90 digs per set. Nikki Ball has 56 total blocks this season.
As a team, the Vandals lead the league in hitting percentage with a .247, limiting their opponents to .201. They average 14.33 digs, 11.81 assists and 12.65 digs per set, which all rank within the top five in the Big Sky.
SERIES HISTORY: Tuesday marks the 55
th all-time meeting between the two teams, with Idaho leading 35-20. The Eagles are looking to snap a losing streak, as the Vandals have claimed the last three matchups. Additionally, EWU is only 2-8 against Idaho in its last 10 matches and are 10-15 against the Vandals in Reese Court.
WHAT'S NEXT: Eastern hits the road again for a conference matchup at Northern Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. PT. The Eagles remain on the road for two more matches following Saturday and come back to Reese Court on Oct. 4 to face Portland State.
