Fresh off of a win against Portland last Saturday, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team is now turning its sights to a Texas road trip for this week's matches.
 
First up is a single match at Tarleton State on Wednesday, Sept. 1 in Stephenville, Texas. First serve is set for 4 p.m. Pacific time and live stats are available HERE and will be streamed HERE.
 
The Eagles then go to San Antonio, Texas, for the UIW Cardinal Classic hosted by Incarnate Word. EWU takes on St. Thomas to open tournament play on Friday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. PT. Action wraps up with a match against the hosts on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. PT. Both matches will be streamed HERE and live stats are available HERE.
 
The road trip concludes on Monday, Sept. 6 with a single match at Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, Texas. The match will be streamed HERE with live stats available HERE.

"We have been out to San Antonio once before and we'll be heading out there again. Incarnate Word did a great job hosting us the first time, so it's exciting to get back and we're hoping to get two wins there as well," said head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud. "It's a unique facility, but we're excited to have two opportunities there to play."
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is currently 1-1 overall after opening play at the Idaho Volleyball Classic last weekend. After falling to Grand Canyon 3-0 to start the year, the Eagles bounced back and defeated Portland, 3-1.
 
True freshman Sadie Bacon was named to the All-Tournament team. Currently, she ranks ninth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.286) and is 10^th in blocks per set (1.00). She also leads the Eagles with 2.29 kills per set.
 
Maya McClellan also averages 2.29 kills per set, and her clip of .351 is fifth in the conference. Lindsey Russell and Ellie Garrett have handled the setting duties, ranking eighth in the conference with 5.43 assists per set and ninth with 5.14 assists per set, respectively.
 
In Eastern's match against Portland, Lindsey Russell served five service aces which was tied for seventh all-time in program history for aces in a four-set match. Currently, she is second in the conference with .71 service aces per set, followed by teammate Noa Torio who is fourth with .60 per set.
 
Sophia Spoja has played libero in both matches, and currently ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 3.57 digs per set.
 
As a team, the Eagles rank in the top-five in the conference in kills per set (2^nd, 13.29), aces per set (2^nd, 2.29), hitting percentage (3^rd, .239) and assists per set (4^th, 11.29).
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has a break from competition next week and will be hosting their Alumni Match on Friday, Sept. 10.
 
On Sept. 17-18, the Eagles host their first-ever non-conference tournament inside Reese Court, welcoming Bakersfield, Seattle and Montana to town. Eastern's matches are on Friday, Sept. 17 against Bakersfield at 6 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. against Seattle. All matches will have live stats on EWUStats.com, and Eastern's matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

"It will be exciting to bring some volleyball out to Cheney," noted Flores-Cloud. "I hope people are excited to watch. Fans are welcome and it's free, so come on out and support your Eagles."
 
A LOOK AT THE TEXANS: Tarleton State is a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and is also 1-1 to start the year. The Texans traveled to Miami, Fla., for the FIU Invitational. They were swept by Miami and then topped Florida International, 3-1, that same day.

"Tarleton State is going to be a really good match and I'm hearing their community is going to come watch, so we'll be playing in a packed house which I'm really excited for," added Flores-Cloud. "This is the only preseason weekend where we'll really get out of Washington to go play, so I'm excited that we'll be able to get four matches in since we don't get to do this often. Tarleton is going to be really good, they've got some seniors and juniors that are coming back. They are physical and big in the front row, so we are looking to have a task on our hands. We'll definitely have an offense more balanced than theirs, so I'm excited about that too. I also think our serving is what will give us a win during this game."
 
Last spring, the Texans finished 13-11 overall and 6-8 in the WAC. They are coached by Mary Schindler who has won five NCAA Coach of the Year awards at Tarleton at the Division II level and she is 331-183 all-time with the Texans.
 
Offensively, they are led by Lauren Kersey with 3.71 kills per set and Kayla Brannon with 7.14 assists per set. Defensively, Ana Costas averages 5.29 digs per set and Lorin McNeil is the team leader in blocks with 1.71 per set.
 
Wednesday's match will be the first-ever between EWU and Tarleton. Eastern Washington is 7-9 all-time against programs from the WAC.
 
A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas University, located in Saint Paul, Minn., is a member of The Summit League and is in its first season at the Division I level. The Tommies are 0-2 this year after falling to Ball State, 0-3, and Green Bay, 1-3, to start the season. They will take on Incarnate Word Friday morning before playing Eastern.
 
St. Thomas is coached by Thanh Pham who is in his 19^th season and led the Tommies to a Division III National Championship title in 2012. St. Thomas played just five matches last season, finishing 3-2.
 
This is also the first-ever matchup between the Eagles and the Tommies. Eastern Washington is 3-17 all-time against programs from The Summit League.
 
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Incarnate Word is a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals are 2-1 after two wins over UT Arlington and a loss to Abilene Christian to start the year. They will play both St. Thomas and Idaho State before playing EWU on Saturday.
 
UIW finished 6-8 overall and 6-6 in the Southland last season to finish eighth. They welcome back 17 players from last year after losing just one, and also welcome three newcomers. They are coached by Samantha Dabbs Thomas who is in her fourth year with the Cardinals, posting an overall record of 23-48.
 
The Cardinals and Eagles have played each other once, back on Sept. 15, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, where Eastern lost 1-3. EWU is 5-2 all-time against programs from the Southland.
 
A LOOK AT THE PANTHERS: Prairie View A&M competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and are off to an 0-3 start on the year. The Panthers opened the season the Cardinals Invites and fell to Lamar, Louisiana at Monroe and Oral Roberts all in three sets. They have four more matches to prepare for the Eagles, taking Houston Baptist twice, Lamar once again and Louisiana Tech before hosting the Eagles.
 
Last year, the Panthers finished 12-3 overall with an impressive 11-1 mark in the SWAC to finish third. They return two starters and eight letterwinners from that squad. They are coached b TaCho Tyler who is in her sixth season at PVAMU.
 
Monday will be the first-ever meeting between both programs, and Eastern has a 1-0 record against programs from the SWAC, coming against Alcorn State on Sept. 14, 2018 in three sets.