The 2022 season is upon us as Eastern Washington volleyball prepares for a new era in Cheney. First-year head coach, Jon Haruguchi will lead the Eagles as they open their fall schedule with an exhibition match against Central Washington on Wednesday, August 17. The match will be at Reese Court, with the first serve at 12 p.m. Pacific Time. On Saturday, August 20, Eastern will have a Red and White Scrimmage at Reese Court, also starting at 12 p.m. Admission to both matches is free for the public. 

"The team has come in and worked hard. They bring a great attitude and effort," Haruguchi said. "We've been really pleased with what we have seen so far and hopefully we will continue to build on that in practice. We're really excited to get the ideas we've been implementing and then testing them against another opponent and not just ourselves. This has been a long time coming since we all got here in April. To have the opportunity early, with the exhibition, is going to be positive for us."

New Administration
Haruguchi was hired back in March after being an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Northern Colorado for the past six seasons. While at UNC, Haruguchi, helped the team to Big Sky Championships in 2019 and 2021, along with qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. He has 16 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, with stops at Dartmouth, Louisiana, and Southeastern Louisiana.

Joining Haruguchi rounded out his staff with former Utah State head coach, Grayson DuBose, and former Big Sky All-Conference selection, Taylor Muff. DuBose was the longest tenured coach in Utah State history, leading the Aggies from 2007 to 2019. Muff played under Haruguchi at UNC and earned All-Conference honors in 2019 and 2020, finishing fifth all-time in kills in program history.

2021 Recap
Eastern finished the 2021 season with a 7-9 record in the Big Sky and 11-14 overall, qualifying for its second-straight conference tournament appearance. The Eagles picked up wins over Portland(3-1), Prairie View A&M(3-0) and Seattle(3-2) in the team's non-conference schedule.

In the team's first conference match, Eastern battled to a 3-2 win over Southern Utah on the road. The Eagles swept the season series against Idaho(3-2, 3-1) and added a win over Idaho State(3-2). In the home match against Northern Arizona, Eastern earned a 3-1 win over the Lumberjacks. They would follow up with a 3-0 sweep of SUU, to grab the season sweep of the Thunderbirds. Eastern would split the season series against Montana(3-2, 0-3).

The Eagles went into the conference tournament as the seven seed and they faced the two seed, Northern Colorado. Eastern would fall in a straight sweep to the Bears, who went on to win the tournament.

Returning Core
Eastern enters the season with an extensive roster of returners, retaining 15 players from the '21 team.

Junior Sage Brustad is the team's top returning scorer, with 170 kills, averaging 2.13 per set. Lindsey Russell returns for her senior season after leading the Eagles with 7.17 assists per set and ranking second with 179 digs. Eastern will also benefit from sophomore libero, Makenna Collins, returning after leading the team with 3.06 digs per set and 245 total.

The Eagles have four additional seniors with right-side hitter/middle blocker Ka'ehukaiiha'amaina'e Keala, outside hitter/middle blocker Renata Lopez Morales, right-side hitter/setter Leah McAdams and middle blocker McKenna Russell.

The team also returns four more juniors, with outside hitter Katie Fleck, setter Ellie Garrett, outside hitter/defensive specialist Casonndrah Polo and middle blocker/right-side hitter Seiaulelei Rapanot-Alefaio

Eastern's sophomore class includes middle blocker/right-side hitter Sadie Bacon, middle blocker Tanai Jenkins, setter Adia Messenger and right-side hitter Alyssa Radke.

"Having the veterans has been really nice. They just lead," Haruguchi said. "Mainly they lead through different ways, by communication, actions and effort. It's been a nice compliment to have that from each one of them individually and it really helps the team."

New Faces
Three freshmen will be on the court for the Eagles in 2022, with Morgan Blazzard, Ema Thompson and Graysen Trupp joining the team. Blazzard is a libero from Troy, Idaho, while Thompson is a setter from Layton, Utah. Trupp arrives in Cheney as a right-side hitter from Salt Lake City, Utah.

"We have three great additions to the team with great attitudes," Haruguchi said of the newcomers. "They bring really great personalities to the court. They are working hard and that's all you can ask of them."

Scouting the Wildcats
Central Washington went 17-9 overall in 2021, with a 12-6 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Wildcats were picked second in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

CWU returns key pieces from the '21 team, including AVCA Third Team All-American and GNAC Newcomer of the Year Tia Andaya. The junior setter averaged 5.07 assists , 2.27 kills and 2.24 digs per set last season. Junior outside hitter Ashley Kaufman also returns after leading the team with 304 kills, averaging 3.13 per set, along with 2.27 digs per set. Kaufman earned All-GNAC first team honors last season. The Wildcats return their starting libero, Hannah Stires, who led the conference with 4.68 digs per set, earning her GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Honors. All three Wildcats were named to the GNAC All-Conference preseason team. 

The Road Ahead
Eastern will play the entirety of its non-conference schedule on the road, including four tournaments.

The regular season opens for the Eagles at the Memphis Tournament from August 26 to August 27 with three matches. In Memphis, Tenn., Eastern will play Central Michigan, Southern University and host Memphis.

A week later, the Eagles fly to Brookings, S.D. for two matches against South Dakota State on September 2 and 3. 

The Eagles will travel down to Boise, Idaho for a three-match tournament against host Boise State, former Big Sky foe Southern Utah, and Butler. The Boise tournament will take place from September 9 to September 10.

On Tuesday, September 13, Eastern will play cross-town foe Gonzaga at 6 p.m. in Spokane.

The final non-conference contests for the Eagles will be in the Stephen F. Austin tournament, where the team will play three matches. Eastern battles Arkansas State on September 16, with a quick turnaround against host, Stephen F. Austin that same day. The team's final non-conference match will pit them against Texas A&M University-Commerce on September 17.

The Eagles will open their Big Sky schedule against Montana State on September 9 in Bozeman, Mont.

After a month away, Eastern's regular season home and conference opener will be against Portland State on September 24 at 7 p.m.

The Eagles have a quick road trip to play Idaho on October 1, but will then host three-straight conference matches. The team takes on Weber State on October 6, Idaho State on October 8, and Idaho on October 15.

The following week, Eastern will be back on the road with matches against Northern Arizona(October 20) and Haruguchi's former team and defending Big Sky champion, Northern Colorado(October 22).

The Eagles will then host Montana and Montana St. on October 27 and 28 respectively.

Eastern will next have a two-week road trip that includes Idaho St. (November 3), Weber St.(November 5), Sacramento State(November 10), and Portland St.(November 12).

The team's final home stand has the Eagles first taking on UNC on November 18. The regular season then concludes with senior night against NAU on November 23 at 12 p.m.

The 2022 Big Sky Tournament will be in Ogden, Utah from November 23 to November 26.