GAME NOTES

CHENEY, Wash. – For the first time in 426 days, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is back to competing. The Eagles travel to play Weber State in Ogden, Utah, on Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. Pacific time and on Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. PT.
 
The traditional 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Friday will mark the first match for Eastern Washington since Nov. 23, 2019.
 
The Eagles are led by third-year head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. She is assisted by Angela Spoja and Collin Cohen. Eastern Washington brings back nine players, including four starters, and welcomes 10 newcomers.
 
A NEW LOOK: In efforts to reduce travel amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 schedule looks a bit different. Eastern Washington will play its Big Sky Conference opponents on back-to-back days at the same location instead of a traditional home-and-home series. They face eight conference opponents in the 16-match schedule.
 
The Eagles will host Big Sky Conference foes Northern Colorado (Jan. 30-Feb. 1), Portland State (Feb. 7-8), Montana (Feb. 21-22) and Idaho (March 12-13) and travel to play Weber State (Jan. 22-23), Northern Arizona (Feb. 14-15), Sacramento State (March 6-7) and Southern Utah (March 19-20).
 
The 2021 Big Sky Volleyball Spring Championship is hosted by Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., from March 31 to April 2. The top eight teams in the conference regular season standings will advance to the championship, something the Eagles are looking to accomplish for the first time since the 2016 season.
 
Eastern Washington will play just one non-conference home match this season when they host Division II member Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 27 in a recently added contest. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
 
All road and home matches will be streamed for free on the Pluto TV app. Channels and links for each game can be found on the volleyball schedule page on GoEags.com.
 
RETURNERS: Nine Eagles, including four starters, are back for the Eagles this season in seniors Catelyn Linke, Ana Paula Zandona, ShaRae Niu, Puaoolelagi Sao and Alisha Straw. Lone junior and kills leader from last year Ashlyn Blotzer returns along with sophomores Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala, Leah McAdams and Renata Lopez Morales.
 
NEWCOMERS: The 2020-21 edition of Eagle volleyball includes 10 newcomers, made up of four transfers and six true freshmen.
 
Sage Brustad (Richland, Wash. / Richland HS), Katie Fleck (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Westlake HS), Ellie Garrett (Windsor, Colo. / Windsor HS), Casonndrah Polo (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS), Seiaulelei Rapanot-Alefaio (Lakewood, Wash. / Lakes HS) and Noa Torio (Mililani, Hawai'i / Mililani HS) make up a core of true freshmen who look to make immediate impacts for the Eagles.
 
The four transfers who bring experience and depth to a young squad include sophomores Sophia Spoja (Puyallup, Wash. / Carroll College) and Maya McClellan (San Carlos, Calif. / Nevada). A pair of juniors in middle blocker McKenna Russell and setter Lindsey Russell, sisters and Spokane natives who attended Spokane Falls Community College, also joined the squad.
 
At the end of the 2019 season, Angela Spoja was hired on as an assistant coach. She played volleyball for the Eagles from 1995-96 under head coach Pam Parks.
 
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS: Weber State finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 26-9 and 13-5 in Big Sky play to finish second in the standings. They advanced to the championship game at the conference tournament where they fell to Northern Colorado in five sets. They then earned a bid to the NIVC, beating Boise State and Wyoming before falling to Tulsa.
 
The Wildcats are coached by Jeremiah Larsen who is in his sixth season at the helm. Weber State was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason poll and they return first-team All-Big Sky selections in Dani Nay and Ashlyn Power.
 
Nay totaled 401 kills last season, good for 3.52 per set. Ashlyn Power was the team-leader in assists, garnering a total of 1,459 assists for 10.97 per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Eagles lead the all-time series over the Wildcats, 43-34, but have lost four-straight. In Ogden, Utah, the Eagles are 13-21.
 
EWU will be looking for its first win over Weber State since Oct. 27, 2016 when they won 3-2 at Reese Court. From 2013 to 2016, the Eagles won five-straight but are now on a four-match losing streak to the Wildcats.
 
The last win in Ogden came on Oct. 24, 2015 in a three-set sweep. When facing the Wildcats, Eastern Washington is 20-14 in three sets, 18-12 in four sets and 5-8 when the match goes to five sets.
 
This is the sixth time in program history that EWU and Weber State face each other in their respective conference openers, with the Eagles trailing 2-3. The last time the two faced off in an opener was on Sept. 16, 2011 when EWU swept the Wildcats 3-0 at Reese Court.
 
MAKING HISTORY: Senior Catelyn Linke looks to make history this season. Through three seasons at EWU, the Pasco, Wash., native has totaled 943 digs and will look to become the ninth player in program history to garner 1,000 career digs.
 
Last season, Linke missed most of the preseason and then moved in to the libero spot permanently. She totaled 4.62 digs per set which is the most by an Eagle since 2008 and tied for third all-time in Eastern Washington history for digs per set in a single season. The total also ranked third in the Big Sky.
 
Currently, Linke has a career digs per set average of 3.67 which ranks fourth overall in career digs per set in the EWU record books.
 
Linke's teammate Puaoolelagi Sao looks to join her in the record book, as she has 769 career digs in two full seasons with the Eagles.
 
BIG SKY AND SEASON OPENERS: Eastern Washington is 18-20 (.473) overall in season openers. The last time they opened the season 1-0 was on Aug. 24, 2018 in coach Leslie Flores-Cloud's first match as head coach when they topped UMass Lowell in three sets.
 
The Eagles are an even 19-19 all-time in Big Sky Conference openers and have not won their first conference match since 2017.
 
Eastern Washington has not opened conference play on the road since 2016. They are 7-12 overall in conference road openers.
 
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR: Last season, Eastern Washington finished 6-24 overall and 4-14 in Big Sky play. The season was highlighted by an Oct. 17, 2019 win at home in five sets over Southern Utah, marking Flores-Cloud's first home and Big Sky win at the helm.
 
On Oct. 24, Eastern Washington beat Idaho State on the road in three sets. They had not won in Pocatello, Idaho, since 2011 and had last to the Bengals nine-straight times before the breakthrough.
 
On Nov. 2, the Eagles beat Sacramento State in Sacramento for just the sixth time in program history and it was the first win over the Hornets since 2015. Another five-set victory came at home against Montana where they beat the Grizzlies for the first time in four tries.
 
Eastern Washington ended the season with an impressive 5-1 record in five-set matches.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has three matches at home when it returns from its road trip. After hosting Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m., the Eagles will host the defending Big Sky Champions Northern Colorado on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at Reese Court. First-serve for both matches is set for 2 p.m. Pacific time. All games will be broadcast for free on Pluto TV Ch. 1053 with live stats available at EWUStats.com. At this time, due to University, state and regional health guidelines, fans are not permitted to attend home games at Reese Court due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.