EOU Ends Long Volleyball Drought at SOU
ASHLAND, Ore. -- Eastern Oregon University ended 21 seasons of volleyball futility in Ashland with a stunning four-set Cascade Collegiate Conference upset of 12th-ranked Southern Oregon University at hot and humid Roy W. McNeal Pavilion Saturday night.
The 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21 victory was the first for the Mountaineers (5-4, 1-1 CCC) on SOU's home court since 1986, and it halted a 19-match Raider conference home win streak that dated back to 2006.
EOU, which dropped a heartbreaking five-set marathon at Oregon Tech last night, took advantage of the error-prone Raiders (3-6, 1-1) throughout the contest. SOU committed 37 hitting errors and missed six serves, and was limited to a paltry .048 attack efficiency by EOU, which out-killed (46-44), out-blocked (14-10) and out-served (8 aces to 5) the Raiders in the key offensive categories.
"Eastern played with a lot of energy, and they were the fresher team tonight," second-year Raider coach Josh Rohlfing said. "We couldn't find any sort of offensive rhythm, and a well-coached, athletic, hungry team like Eastern will take advantage every time at this level."
Junior all-star hitter Grace DeBoodt sparked the Mountaineer onslaught with a match-high 13 kills and three aces, while versatile freshman Jessica Lea amassed 11 kills, 16 assists, four blocks in EOU's first win over its sister school in 13 meetings since 2001.
Southern received 12 kills from sophomore hitter Samantha Yutzie and 11 from sophomore Leah Bergstrom and 10 from senior all-star middle Mia Wortel. Sophomore libero Maggie Rivers compiled a team-high 15 digs.
Eastern Oregon emerged with a commanding two-sets-to-none advantage at the promotional break by scoring six of the final nine points in the first set, and by rallying from a 17-15 deficit in the second frame.
Southern Oregon regrouped in Set 3 thanks in part to three kills each by freshman reserve Megan Bartling and Wortel. But the Mountaineers countered in the fourth set by rushing to 9-2 and 24-16 advantages in the fourth set, and junior hitter Noelle Carstens staved off a last-ditch Raider rally with a cross-court smash to clinch the historic EOU win in a series dominated by Southern Oregon, 63-22, since 1969.
The Raiders return to action next Thursday with a non-conference fray at Western Oregon.