HASTINGS, Neb. – In what was expected to be a back-and forth clash between top-10 teams in the NAIA, turned into a one-sided affair as the No. 10 Eastern Oregon volleyball team easily disposed of No. 3 Grand View (Iowa) in three sets (25-17, 26-24, 25-13) on Friday evening.
"I am proud of how consistent our ladies played through out the entirety of they match," said head coach Kaki McLean Morehead. "It is a great win that we can continue to build upon."
Both teams entered the game with matching 4-0 records after Grand View won a five-set thriller over No. 22 Bellevue just hours prior. The Mountaineers used the Vikings' potential fatigue to their advantage, jumping out to multi-point leads in each set. It is the highest ranked opponent the Mountaineers have defeated in program history.
The opening set went back-and-forth until the Mounties grabbed four-straight points to go ahead 14-8. Another late run of six-straight points, which featured two Hailee Ackerman kills and a block assist, gave EOU all the breathing room it need at 21-13. Sophomore Cambree Scott finished the set with two of her seven total kills.
Set two nearly got away from the Mounties as they went ahead 21-14 after a run of seven points. The Vikings took a timeout and came storming back, winning 10 of 11 points to earn a set point at 24-22. With the set on the line, and potentially important momentum, the Blue and Gold rallied back for four points in a row, led by kills by Ackerman, Scott and sophomore Breanna Shaffer to escape with a 26-24 win in set two.
The Mountaineers opened a 7-0 lead in the third set, a lead that would never drop below three points. A six-point run put EOU up 20-10 as they went onto sweep the No. 3 Vikings.
Overall, EOU played much cleaner and more efficient than their counterparts, posting 38 kills and a .202 hitting percentage. On the other side, Grand View hit just .014 and had 31 errors to 33 kills.
Part of the struggles for the Vikings was due to the tough Mountie defense that finished with nine blocks. Scott, senior Taylor Tibbetts and sophomore Jet Taylor led the front line with four block assists apiece, while senior Megan Bunn added three.
Ackerman paced the attack with 10 kills, followed by Scott with seven and a .429 hitting percentage. Junior Madison Pilon had her fifth-straight double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs. Junior Kiley McMurtrey posted 23 digs while fellow junior Aspen Christiansen added 10.
EOU continues with top-25 opponents in Nebraska, facing No. 22 Bellevue on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT and No. 14 Hastings later that day at 4 p.m. CT to end the trip.
For more information on Eastern Oregon volleyball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com.
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Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu