SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Eastern Washington kicked off its 2025 season at the UC San Diego Tournament, where the Eagles faced a challenging slate of opponents. EWU dropped all three matches, falling to New Mexico State (3-1), UC San Diego (3-0), and Northwestern (3-0).
"It was a tough weekend with three difficult opponents," said head coach
Jon Haruguchi. "While we did not play the way we had hoped, we now have clear direction on what to address in practice this week so we can keep moving forward."
Despite the tough results, several Eagles stood out over the weekend.
Erin McInnes led the offense with 21 kills,
Cassandra Moeller added 16 kills,
Anna Bolich tallied 55 assists, and
Elle Bruegman anchored the defense with 29 digs.
Match Recaps
EWU vs. New Mexico State
The Eagles started the tournament strong by taking the first set against the Aggies. After falling behind 8-3 early, Eastern stormed back with a 10-2 run to go up 14-11. They maintained the momentum and closed out the set 25-19.
Bria Carlise and
Cassandra Moeller paced the offense with seven kills each, while Bolich added 20 assists and Bruegman collected 16 digs.
New Mexico State responded in the second set, using a 9-2 run to pull ahead and take the set 25-18. The Aggies dominated the final two sets, jumping out to a 15-5 lead in the third (25-10) and a 20-9 lead in the fourth (25-12), sealing a 3-1 win.
EWU vs. UC San Diego
The Tritons came out aggressive, opening the first set with an 8-2 lead and extending it to 17-6 before claiming the set 25-12.
Set two saw a similar script. UC San Diego opened with a 5-0 run, and while the Eagles kept it close midway through, the Tritons pulled away to win 25-11.
In the third, UC San Diego again took control early, jumping to an 8-2 lead and cruising to a 25-13 victory to complete the 3-0 sweep.
EWU vs. Northwestern
Eastern closed the tournament against a strong Northwestern squad. The Wildcats quickly built a 14-5 lead in the first set and never looked back, winning 25-11.
The second set mirrored the first, as Northwestern raced out to a 7-0 start and held off the Eagles for a 25-13 win.
Eastern showed some fight in the third, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. However, Northwestern responded with a 5-0 run to regain the lead. The Eagles battled but ultimately fell 25-18, giving the Wildcats the 3-0 match victory.
Next Up
The Eagles travel to Portland next week for the University of Portland Tournament. They'll face CSUN and Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 4, before wrapping up the event against the host Pilots on Friday, Sept. 5.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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