Eastern Washington volleyball opened the 2022 regular season at the Tiger Brawl Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. Eastern split games on the first day of the season, sweeping Southern University in the afternoon for Jon Haruguchi's first win as the head coach. The Eagles dropped their first match of the day to Central Michigan, 0-3.

"We're really proud of the team and how they responded after a tough first match today," Haruguchi said. "We fought hard, and we're excited about getting after it again tomorrow."

Game 1: Central Michigan
Eastern Washington opened its 2022 season with a matchup against Central Michigan.

In the first set, both teams scored quickly to try and set the tone for the match. CMU created some separation with a 5-9 lead. The Chippewas continued to hold their lead, but the Eagles continued to score as Sage Brustad and Katie Fleck were effective in their attacks. Eastern pulled within one at 21-22 on a kill from Brustad. CMU had a chance at set point at 24-23, but a bad set tied the score. The two teams traded points as Alyssa Radke and Sadie Bacon both scored for the Eagles to keep the set going. The Chippewas managed to string two kills together and won the set, 28-26, and had a 1-0 lead in the game.

Set one was an offensive spectacle, with Eastern hitting .359 and CMU hitting .459.

The second set was another competitive contest, as neither team backed down and continued scoring. Brustad continued to earn kills for the Eagles, while Bacon delivered points on the attack, block and serve to keep pace with CMU. With CMU leading 18-17, the Chippewas scored three straight points to give them space from Eastern. The run was the separation that CMU needed, and they held on for a 25-20 set win and a 2-0 advantage in the game.

Eastern's offense was held to a .023 hitting percentage, while the Chippewas were held to a .195 percentage.

Facing a 0-2 deficit, the Eagles stayed aggressive to open the third set, getting ahead 5-3 early. Eastern was in front at 7-6, but Chippewas organized a 5-0 run to pull ahead. After the Eagles closed the lead to 10-13, CMU went on a 9-1 run to hold a 22-11 advantage. A late run from the Eagles whittled the lead down to 24-17, but it was not enough to extend the game. CMU won the game 3-0 after a 25-17 win in the third set.  The Chippewas closed with a .188 hitting mark in the final set, with the Eagles recording  .083 hitting percentage.

Eastern finished with a .151 percentage for the game, while the Chippewas had a .282 line.

Game 2: Southern
The Eagles looked to split the first day of the season in their afternoon matchup against Southern University.

After Southern led 4-3 early in the game, Eastern went on a 4-0 run to get in front. The Jaguars responded just as fast, tying the set at seven and the two teams began a back-and-forth contest. Southern pulled ahead 11-9, but the Eagles were not deterred, ripping off a 13-1 run to take control of the set, 22-12. Sage Brustad powered the effort, recording nine kills in the first set. A pair of kills from Brustad secured Eastern a 25-14 victory and a 1-0 lead in the game.

Southern struggled on offense, hitting .028 in the set, while the Eagles had a .222 percentage.

The Eagles were feeling the momentum in the second, overwhelming Southern with a 17-2 run to open the set. As a team, Eastern notched eight service aces in the set and recorded six kills with no errors, giving the team a .600 hitting percentage. Lindsey Russell recorded four of the team's eight aces in the set, while Renata Lopez Morales had three kills and two block assists. The Eagles dominated the second set, going on to win 25-6 and building a 2-0 lead in the game. The Jaguars were held to a -0.286 attack percentage in the second set.

Up 2-0, Eastern did not give Southern a chance to grab any momentum, opening with a 5-2 stretch in the third set. The Jaguars continued to compete, keeping the score within one through the first half of the set. With the score close at 16-14, the Eagles used a 4-0 spurt to build separation from Southern. Eastern had kills from Alyssa Radke and Katie Fleck, while Sadie Bacon capped the run with a solo block. The Eagles would hold their advantage and complete the sweep of the Jaguars with a 25-16 win in set three.

Eastern Washington finished with a .312 attack percentage, while locking down Southern to a -.037 percentage.

Key Statistics
Sage Brustad tallied 22 kills in six sets played, while hitting .283 on 53 total attacks on Friday. She added 15 digs, three service aces and three block assists. Against Central Michigan, Brustad earned her fourth career double-double, with 12 kills and 10 digs.

Lindsey Russell had 37 assists in five sets played on Friday. She added one solo block and three block assists.

Renata Lopez Morales recorded six total blocks, with two solo and four block assists in six sets played. Sadie Bacon had four total blocks, with one solo and three assists.

Eastern's 12 service aces against Southern are tied for the ninth-most in program history for a three-set game. Russell had four, with Brustad and Bacon each adding three. Russell notched her third career, four-service ace game today against the Jaguars.

Morgan Blazzard finished with 18 digs between the two games today, getting 10 against CMU and 8 against Southern.

The Eagles had only seven attack errors against Southern, while the Jaguars suffered from 23.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will finish its road trip at the Tiger Brawl Tournament with a game tomorrow against the host team, Memphis, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.