No. 11 Mountaineers Split Pair in Season Opener
Box Score 1
FULLERTON, Calif. – The No. 11 Eastern Oregon volleyball team split a pair of matches on the season opening day at the HIU/Vanguard Summer Slam on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (1-1) opened the 2017 campaign with a four-set victory over Trinity Christian, but were then defeated in four sets by No. 16 Cornerstone.
Match 1: No. 11 EOU 3, TCC 1 – 22-25, 25-17, 25-19 & 25-17
Sophomore
Megan Bunn led the Mountaineer attack with a career-high 15 kills. Bunn finished with a .323 hitting percentage, adding six digs and three block assists.
Also adding a career day was fellow sophomore
Hailee Ackerman, who posted 10 kills for the first time in her career.
The Blue and Gold dropped the first set 25-22 to Trinity Christian after allowing the Trolls to hit .289 from the floor. The Mountaineers responded, however, winning three straight sets to grab the season opening victory.
EOU ended the morning match hitting .424 in the fourth set, recording 16 kills to just two errors.
As a team, the Mountaineers posted nine blocks, led by senior
Madisen Garlie's five. The middle hitter added nine kills. Senior
Emily Nay finished with four blocks, followed by Ackerman with three.
In her first collegiate match, freshman
Madison Pilon led EOU with 21 assists. Fellow freshman
Abby Smith set 12 assists while junior
Sarah Carpenter added 10 assists. Defensively, junior libero
Holli Mullins paced the Mounies with 10 digs.
Match 2: No. 16 Cornerstone 3, No. 11 EOU 1 – 17-25, 16-25, 27-25 & 18-25
The Mountaineers were held to a .119 hitting percentage as No. 16 Cornerstone picked up its season-opening victory.
EOU fell behind 2-0 after the first two sets, but answered with a close 27-25 third set victory after hitting at a .406 clip from the floor.
Senior
Amanda Miller led the way with 12 kills, including the final three points of the Mounties' third set win. Miller also added three block assists.
Four players posted double-digit digs, paced by senior
Malia Mills' 13. Mullins posted 12, followed by Pilon and freshman
Kiley McMurtrey with 10 apiece.
Pilon matched her total from the morning match with 21 assists, while Smith added 11.
The Mountaineers continue play in the HIU/Vanguard Summer Slam on Thursday, facing host Hope International at 10 a.m. They wrap up the afternoon against The Master's at 2 p.m.
Links to live video and statistics for both matches will be available at eousports.com.