The NAIA's No. 14-ranked Eastern Oregon extended its winning streak to nine straight matches with a three-set sweep over Corban Saturday in Salem.
Eastern Oregon Extends Streak to Nine Straight Matches With Sweep Over Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – The NAIA's No. 14-ranked Eastern Oregon University combined for only six hitting errors on the night, as a hot-hitting Mountaineer squad extended their winning streak to nine straight matches with a straight set victory, 3-0 (13-25, 16-25, 15-25), over Corban University Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With tonight's result, Eastern Oregon improves to 15-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in CCC play. On the other hand, Corban falls to 2-12 overall and 0-6 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.
Eastern Oregon was led offensively by Casey Loper with a match-high 12 kills, while Stefani Sorensen and Taylor Stewart added nine and seven kills, respectively. Karly Stack would hand out a match-high 22 assists for the Mountaineers, while Stewart also added a team-high 11 digs. At the net, Loper led EOU with a match-high tying four blocks.
For the second night in a row, Corban was led offensively by Olivia Shropshire with nine kills followed by Jenny Harman with seven and Claire Bailey with four kills. Payton Wilcox led Corban's offense with a team-high 12 assists off the bench, while libero Katherine Salness and Brittany Sweet anchored the Warriors' defense with a match-high 12 and 11 digs, respectively. At the net, Madison Purnell led Corban with a match-high tying four blocks.
The opening set would see Eastern Oregon score six unanswered points to start the match behind the serving of Katie Keeney before Corban finally got on the board via a kill by Miah Smith. The visiting Mountaineers would slowly extend their lead to 12 points (20-8) on a kill by Loper. Despite Corban pulling within 11 points (22-11) on a kill by Shropshire, Eastern Oregon's lead was too much for the Warriors to overcome as the Mountaineers cruised to a 25-13 victory.
Set #2 would see Eastern Oregon score the first four points before Corban put a point on the board, as the Mountaineers extended their lead to six points (7-1) on a combo block by Kasaundra Tuma and Stack. The host Warriors would pull within five points (11-6) on a kill by Purnell before Eastern Oregon used an 11-4 run to go up by 12 points (22-10). Corban would get within eight points (24-16) before the Mountaineers closed things out on a kill by Stewart for the 25-16 victory.
The third and final set would see Corban jump out to an 11-7 lead on a combo block by Purnell and Smith before Eastern Oregon used a 12-1 run en route to building a 20-12 lead on a kill by Stewart. The host Warriors would fight hard until the end, as Corban got within eight points (23-15) on a kill by Shropshire only to see Eastern Oregon score the match's final two points en route to earning the 25-15 victory and three-set sweep.
Both teams will return to action on Friday, September 27th, when Eastern Oregon hosts Oregon Tech and Corban travels north to the state of Washington to take on Evergreen. The matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in both respective cities.