Eastern Washington University head volleyball coach Leslie Flores-Cloud announced the team’s 2018 schedule July 19.
The 30-match slate features nine home Big Sky Conference matchups at Reese Court, in addition to four tournaments that take place all around the country. The Eagles play 12 nonconference matches on the road before opening up Big Sky play at home against Idaho on Sept. 18.
Flores-Cloud enters her first year at the helm of the EWU volleyball program after five seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Drake University. She looks to bring the Eagles back to the Big Sky Tournament after missing it last season for the first time since 2016 after finishing 7-18 overall and 4-12 in conference play.
“I am so excited for the start of season,” Flores-Cloud said.”I think the preseason schedule will allow for us to be challenged which is great for such a young team, and I look forward to taking the team all over the country.”
This year’s young roster includes five returners in Alexandra Espinosa, Taylor Larsen, Kahle Elliott, Catelyn Linke and MaKenna Davis. The Eagles also welcome eight newcomers.
The start of the 2018 campaign brings the Eagles to the Titan Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The two-day tournament runs from Aug. 24-25, with the season opener taking place on Friday against UMass Lowell. The opening weekend concludes with matchups against Akron and hosts UC Riverside.
Weekend two includes four matches at the UND Classic on Aug. 30 – Sept. 1. The classic is hosted by a familiar foe in North Dakota, who recently left the Big Sky for The Summit League in early July 2018. The Fighting Hawks won the BSC Tournament last season and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a record of 30-8 overall. EWU will take on the Fighting Hawks on Aug. 30 for UND’s home opener.
The Eagles also face Louisiana Tech for the second time in program history on Aug. 31 and Western Carolina later that afternoon. EWU wraps up the classic on Sept. 1 with another matchup against Louisiana Tech to close the weekend.
On Sept. 6-7, the schedule takes the Eagles east for the Pirate Invitational hosted by East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. EWU opens the tournament against the hosts for the lone match on Thursday. On Sept. 7, Eastern takes on Charlotte for the second season in a row before capping off the action against Gardner-Webb.
The final weekend before Big Sky Conference play takes place in San Antonio, Texas, for the Cardinal Classic hosted by Incarnate Word. Eastern takes on Alcorn State on Sept. 14 before the final nonconference match of the season against Incarnate Word on Sept. 15.
The Eagles first home match is Sept. 18 against Idaho.
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