Matlock’s Eagles have found their wings
When Irene Matlock was hired as Eastern Washington University’s interim volleyball coach in July, just five weeks before the season opener, her goal was to provide stability and leadership to a program dealing with the abrupt departure of ex-coach Wade Benson.
She’s done that, and more.
EWU, which saw two key players transfer during the transition and went 1-9 to open the season, has found its stride in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles (12-13, 11-3 Big Sky) can earn no worse than a share of the conference title with home wins against Portland State (19-6, 12-2) Saturday and Sacramento State (23-6, 10-2) on Nov. 16. EWU was picked fifth in the conference preseason poll.
It’s been a blast for Matlock, who has coached volleyball for roughly 30 years and experienced more than 800 wins. Along the way, the Eagles have rallied from behind to win eight times and they’re 6-0 in five-game matches, including a marathon victory over Montana that ranks among the highest scoring in NCAA history.
“They have a resolve in that fifth game that’s great,” Matlock said. “I’ve had teams before that battle and battle and we’ve lost fifth games. It’s very interesting to watch this group because they’re so young, maybe that’s to their credit. They just play.”
And things just happen.
“Chenoa (Coviare) and Kristen (Ponce) have a tendency at the end of matches to have tougher serves,” Matlock said. “Just interesting little stats and trends they do. We can go through a match without being productive in our blocking and then in the fifth game we’re getting some serious stuff blocks.”
EWU’s success has led to inevitable questions of Matlock’s interest in the full-time coaching position, but she doesn’t want to distract from the team’s pursuit of a championship.
She is leaning toward applying but hasn’t weighed the pros and cons.
At the time of Matlock’s appointment, which was made by interim athletic director Michael Westfall, the school said it would conduct a national search in November. Bill Chaves, hired as A.D. in August, said that remains the plan.
“We were very fortunate, given the circumstances and the time of year, that she was willing to come on,” Chaves said. “Our team has gotten better and better as the year has gone on.
“As in any situation when you’re trying to recruit for a position, you hope that you’re going to have to make a difficult decision. You want a great pool” of candidates.
Quick sets
Gonzaga (16-11, 4-7) has dropped four of its last five WCC matches to slip into seventh in the eight-team conference. The Bulldogs visit last-place Portland on Saturday before closing at home against No. 19 San Diego and San Francisco next week. Santa Clara, which knocked off San Diego last week, leads the WCC by 2 1/2 games. … Idaho (11-14, 7-7) still has a shot at the fourth seed in the WAC tournament. The Vandals need to win their last two matches and Utah State (15-12, 9-5) to lose its last two. Idaho holds the tiebreaker over Utah State. … Washington State, which has lost 15 straight matches and 12 in a row in conference, entertains No. 7 California Thursday and No. 5 Stanford Friday. Washington (22-1, 11-1) has moved into the Pac-10 lead. … Weber State snapped Sacramento State’s 59-match Big Sky regular-season home winning streak that stretched back to Oct. 28, 1999.