No. 12 EOU Volleyball Claims CCC Title With Four-Set Win Over Walla Walla
COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. – Eastern Oregon University (23-3, 18-2) started the match hot getting out to an early 6-1 lead over host Walla Walla University (7-18, 3-16) behind Amanda Miller's 6 kills with no errors in the first set. The Wolves would get as close as 8-11 with strong defensive plays from
Rylee Sutton and
Maria Darling, both making diving digs to save rallies.
The Mountaineers would eventually pull away from the Wolves to take the first set 25-18. The Wolves have struggled all year with hitting efficiency and this set was no different. EOU out hit WWU .387 to .115 while much of the other stats were fairly even.
In the second set, the Wolves changed their line-up and gave the #12
th ranked team in the nation all they could handle. The Wolves would get to 6-1 on a solo block by
Lexi Shanko followed by a block assist by Lexi and
Melissa Barton. WWU would see a 13-7 advantage as
Lexi Shanko drilled one of her 7 kills into the corner. Eastern Oregon fought their way back into the match to tie the game up at 20. Both teams traded points to keep things tied up at 21, 22, 23 and 24 but it was Walla Walla that would come up big in the final two points to take the win 26-24.
The loss seamed to wake up the Mountaineers as they found their groove in the third set and took an easy win, 25-9 over the Wolves. Hitting efficiency was the key again as EOU hit a .444 to WWU's -.103.
The fourth set would see EOU jump out to an early led. The Wolves would fight back but it was too little too late. A 7-3 run by the Wolves would bring the score to 18-24 but the Mountaineers would take the next point to seal the match.
Stat leaders for EOU were Amanda miller with 21 kills and a hitting percentage of .515. Kasaundra Tuma would add 15 kills of her own while Piper Cantrell totaled 22 digs. Rachelle Chamberlain would rack up 56 assists, 9 digs and 4 blocks.
The Wolves were led by Sophomore
Lexi Shanko who totaled 15 kills and 2 solo blocks.
Emily Allen added another 7 kills while
Alissa Casey and
Lauren Bosler totaled 21 and 13 assists respectively.
Rylee Sutton led the team in digs with 15 while
Maria Darling added another 11.
Eastern Oregon has locked up first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference while Walla Walla has one more match to play this Saturday night as they take on visiting College of Idaho at 6:00pm.
Up Next
The Mountaineers (23-3, 18-2 CCC) return to the hardwood on Friday, Nov. 13, to compete in the semifinals of the 2015 CCC Volleyball Championship. EOU will compete at 7 p.m. in La Grande, and the squad's opponent is to be determined.