Northwest Notes Dec. 3, 2021

Flores-Cloud resigns after four seasons as EWU volleyball coach

Eastern Washington University volleyball coach Leslie Flores-Cloud is resigning after having served as head coach since June of 2018, EWU athletic director Lynn Hickey announced Thursday.

"Leslie was given a huge task when hired at Eastern to rebuild our volleyball program," Hickey said. "She has done an outstanding job in helping us move the program back to where Eastern Washington volleyball should be."

Before Flores-Cloud took over, EWU finished .500 or worse in volleyball for eight straight seasons, including 7-18 in 2017.

Under Flores-Cloud, EWU was 31-72 in four seasons, including 16-52 in Big Sky Conference play.

This past season, the Eagles were 11-14, 7-9 Big Sky, qualifying for the conference tournament for the second straight season. The 11 wins were EWU's most since 2016.

"I have enjoyed my time at Eastern and appreciate the opportunity to help re-build and lead the volleyball program," Flores-Cloud said. "This past year and a half has been an unusually challenging time in intercollegiate athletic competition due to COVID, and with a young child and a newborn, this time period was even more difficult for my family. I need to step away and prioritize my family at this time and assess what my next steps career wise will be."

Current assistant coach, Angela Spoja, will step in as the interim coach while a search for Flores-Cloud's replacement is conducted.