PORTLAND, Ore. – On a night when senior outside hitter Amanda Miller set the career kills record, the No. 14 Eastern Oregon volleyball team needed every point in a five-set comeback victory over Cascade Collegiate Conference opponent Warner Pacific on Friday night at the CC Perry Gym.
Miller passed previous record holder Grace Deboodt (2006-09) with her second kill of the match, which occurred in the third set when EOU began its comeback. Miller finished with 10 kills on the night and now sits in first place for career kills in program history with 1,270.
The Mountaineers (17-5, 11-2 CCC) needed every kill from Miller in the match as they found themselves down 2-0 very quickly to the host Knights (4-9, 4-9 CCC). Warner Pacific stunned EOU with a 25-17 win in set one, followed by a 25-18 victory in set two.
The Blue and Gold came out of the gates slowly, hitting .185 in the first set and .103 in the second. In the third, they were still held to a .178 hitting percentage, but were able to limit the Knights to .085.
Warner Pacific nearly pulled off the upset sweep as they led 24-22 in the third set, needing just one point to clinch the match. The Mountaineers stunned the Knights with four-straight points, however, on a kill by sophomore Megan Bunn, followed by back-to-back blocks by seniors Amy Arnzen and Madisen Garlie, finally winning the set on a kill by sophomore Hailee Ackerman.
The wild comeback in the third set gave EOU confidence once again as the Mounties went onto hit .226 in set four before dominating the fifth set with a .556 hitting percentage thanks to 10 kills and no errors.
Garlie, the NAIA leader in blocks per set at 1.59, continued her excellent play with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 blocks, adding four digs. The Mountaineers had four players with double-digit kills including Garlie, Miller, Bunn and Ackerman.
Both freshmen setters Madison Pilon and Abby Smith had double-doubles in the match. Pilon finished with 24 assists, 11 digs and three service aces. Smith had 19 assists, 15 digs and a big kill in the fifth set for EOU's second-to-last point.
Freshman libero Kiley McMurtrey paced the team with 18 digs. Senior right-side hitter Isabelle Stakus had seven kills and six blocks while Arnzen and Bunn each chipped in with three blocks.
For the Knights, Janessa Mast had a career night with 31 kills, accounting for over half of Warner Pacific's total and nearly leading her team to a big upset.
The Mountaineers stay in Portland for their next match on Saturday at Multnomah. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu