Volleyball 11/1/2019 11:02:00 PM Isabelle Statkus, Sports Information Assistant No. 3 EOU Volleyball Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker to No. 9 SOU LA GRANDE, Ore. - It was a devastating loss for the No. 3 Eastern Oregon women's volleyball team in front of a raucous home crowd, as it took just its second loss of the year, falling to No. 9 Southern Oregon in five sets (25-23, 25-14, 16-25, 23-25, 15-17) on Friday night at Quinn Coliseum. Offensive leader and senior outside hitter Megan Bunn had a momentous night recording 24 kills. The total marks a career high for the senior and ties her for second in the all-time record books for most kills in a single match, joining four other current and former Mounties including teammate Hailee Ackerman. For Southern, Taylor Ristvedt was dominating on the outside, crushing 21 kills with a .333 hitting percentage. Teammate Maddie Pernich had 19 kills followed by Elliott Cook with 13 and a very efficient .462 hitting mark. Emma Ryan led all players with 31 digs, while Hannah Bogatin had 38 assists and Tehani Faitau added 25. EOU sophomore outside hitter Breanna Shaffer tallied ten kills while sophomore middle Cambree Scott had six kills as well as six blocks. Overall, both teams were fairly matched on hitting percentage with the Mountaineers (25-2, 15-2 CCC) hitting at .225 and the Raiders (24-3, 15-2 CCC) hitting .254. Junior setter Madison Pilon led the team in assists with 41 and junior libero Kiley McMurtrey tallied 16 digs. The Raiders out-dug the Mountaineers 84-68, however the Mountaineers amassed 15 blocks and seven aces to SOU's four and two. EOU took the first two sets without hesitation, despite a tough SOU team pushing to go point for point with the Mountaineers. Having set point at 24-23, the Mountaineer's took the first set after an SOU hitting error. The second set built off of the first set win as the Mountaineers went on a nine point run at 14-12, making it 23-12 for a comfortable lead. The Mountaineers only gave the Raiders two more points before closing out the set for another win 25-14. The third and fourth set showed a resilient side from Southern. Tied at 12-12 in the third, SOU went on a nine point run of their own making it 21-12. After four quick SOU kills, the Raiders snatched the third set 25-16. Despite losing the third set, the Mountaineers came out with fire in the fourth leading by, at most, eight points at 16-8. However, the Raiders were determined to force a fifth set. SOU went on a big run and tied it back up at 18-18, gaining ten points to the Mountaineers two. After 18-18, the score was tied again another five times until 23-23. After an SOU kill and an EOU error, the Raiders took the fourth set 25-23. The fifth and final set was nothing less than an all-out battle. Both top-25 teams gave blood, sweat, and tears for every single point. It was back and forth with each team leading and then tying the score back up. SOU was the first to eight points, however the Mountaineers were not far behind with six points. After switching sides at 8-6, the Mountaineers gave it all they had, tying it back up at 11-11. From then on, the score would be tied at every single point 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, and 15-15, forcing extra points in a wild finish. However, after a Raider kill, SOU had the advantage 16-15. Southern took the final point to crush the hearts of the faithful EOU supporters. The Mountaineers have their last home game of the regular season tomorrow night against OIT at 5:00 pm for Senior Night. EOU will celebrate their four seniors Megan Bunn, Hailee Ackerman, Nina Bailey, and Taylor Tibbetts. For more information on Eastern Oregon volleyball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com. FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu