CHENEY, Wash. – With a new season on the horizon, Eastern Washington University volleyball second-year head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud has announced the 2019 schedule today (May 15). The 31-match slate features nine home Big Sky Conference matchups at Reese Court in addition to four preseason tournaments taking place across the country.
 
The Eagles won't have to travel far for their season opener, as they head to the University of Idaho for a two-day tournament beginning on Aug. 30 against Cal State Fullerton. The following day, Eastern takes on Illinois-Chicago and Cal Baptist to round out the first weekend of competition.
 
The next weekend, Eastern Washington travels to Drake for two days of competition in the Midwest. It will be the first return trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for Flores-Cloud who spent five seasons with the Bulldogs as an assistant and associate head coach before taking over the helm at EWU. The tournament begins on Sept. 6 with matchups against Milwaukee and Drake before capping competition on Sept. 7 against Saint Louis.
 
A midweek matchup at Seattle takes place on Sept. 10 before Eastern heads to Phoenix, Ariz., for a tournament hosted by Grand Canyon. Play begins on Sept. 13 against GCU before matches against San Diego State and UC Riverside wrap up competition on Sept. 14. Eastern Washington played UCR in its season-opening tournament last year, topping them in a five-set thriller to open the campaign 3-0.
 
The last tune-up before Big Sky Conference play takes the Eagles to a familiar place in Grand Forks, N.D. for a tournament hosted by North Dakota. Eastern and the Fighting Hawks have faced each other in seven consecutive seasons when UND was a member of the Big Sky. The two foes play each other on the evening of Sept. 19 to begin tournament action. The Eagles cap off nonconference play on Sept. 20 against Akron and Lamar.
 
An always rigorous Big Sky slate brings the Eagles home to Reese Court for the first time on Sept. 26 against Sacramento State. It's a quick stay at home, as EWU hosts Portland State on Sept. 27 before hitting the road again to face Montana State (Oct. 3) and Montana (Oct. 5).
 
Eastern Washington is back in Cheney for a quick mid-week match against rival Idaho on Oct. 8 before traveling to Northern Colorado for a matinee on Oct. 11.
 
The Eagles are back for two in a row when they host Southern Utah (Oct. 17) and Northern Arizona (Oct. 19) at home before taking a quick trip to Idaho State to face the Bengals on Oct. 24.  Two days later, Eastern is back at Reese Court once more to host Weber State on Oct. 26.
 
A Halloween matchup takes place at Portland State for the second half of Big Sky play before the Eagles kick off November at Sacramento State (Nov. 2).
 
Both Montana State (Nov. 7) and Montana (Nov. 8) make the return trip to Cheney on back-to-back nights before the Eagles travel to nearby Idaho on Nov. 12.
Senior Day and the final home match of the season is set for Nov. 16 against the Bears of Northern Colorado.
 
One final regular season road trip for Eastern Washington takes the Eagles to Flagstaff for a matchup against the defending Big Sky Champions Northern Arizona on Nov. 21. The final match of the 2019 season is on Nov. 23 at Southern Utah.
 
The top eight teams in the Big Sky Conference will qualify for the tournament and the chance at an automatic NCAA bid on Nov. 28-30 in Sacramento, Calif. The Eagles look to advance to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
 
To view the 2019 schedule in its entirety, including match times, click HERE. All times are listed in Pacific and contests are subject to change. All home games played at Reese Court are complimentary to students and the general public. To stay up to date with EWU volleyball, follow the team on Twitter @EWUVB.