LA GRANDE, Ore. - No. 12 Eastern Oregon Volleyball is headed back to the NAIA National Championship final site for the eighth year in a row! The Mountaineers punched their ticket to Sioux City with a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-13, 25-20) over the visiting Columbia International University Rams.
With the win, Eastern Oregon is now 26-7 on the year and finishes the 2021 season with an impressive 10-2 record inside Quinn Coliseum. The win also improves the Mountaineers all-time record in the NAIA opening round to 3-0.
How it Happened
• The biggest help the Mountaineers win came in the serving game as they racked up six service aces and did not surrender one the entire night to CIU (29-9).
• Both teams had eight blocks for the contest, but a 48-30 advantage in kills by the Mountaineers helped them post a .324 attack clip in the win.
• Defensively, Eastern never allowed the Rams to hit over .300 in any set and held them to under .200 in the first two sets.
• In the early going of the first set, the Rams managed to lead 2-0 and 6-5 but composure by the Mountaineers allowed them to score three straight points to go ahead 8-6.
• The quick 3-0 surge by OUO now only put the team in the driver seat, but CIU never managed to tie the set the rest of the way.
• A 6-1 run by the Mountaineers midway through the frame gave them a 16-9 lead and forced a CIU timeout. The break made little difference as the Mountaineers then surged ahead 20-12.
• The Rams called a second timeout after the Mountaineers jumped ahead by eight. They looked to make a comeback scoring out of the breather, but EOU finished them off with a 5-2 run to win 25-15.
• In the second set, CIU looked to keep things close and did so in the beginning once again. It was a 7-5 lead in favor of EOU following a kill by the Rams, but the Mounties then pieced together a 7-1 run to lead 14-6.
• The Rams looked to chip away at the EOU lead but each time the Mountaineers had answers to maintain a 7-8 point lead. Late in the set, EOU grabbed a 10-point lead on a service ace to go up 21-11 and forced a CIU timeout.
• The Rams were unable to respond as the Mountaineers held them to just two more points the rest of the frame. A 4-0 EOU run closed the set at 25-13 and put Eastern up 2-0.
• The start of the third set saw the mountaineers seize control early, but the Rams made things interesting late before succumbing to the 25-20 loss.
• EOU scored three straight points to start the match and led 7-4 early on. The Rams stayed within striking distance before a 5-0 run put the Mountaineers up 17-9 midway through.
• The Mountaineers' lead grew to 18-10 before the Rams finally made a near comeback. CIU scored four unanswered to make it 18-14 and ultimately went on an 8-2 run to make it a 20-16 contest.
• Eastern burned its first timeout of the night and out of the short break they scored on back-to-back kills to go up 22-18 and force a CIU timeout.
• The Rams comeback efforts fell short as the Mountaineers held them to just two more points before taking the set by five and securing the 3-0 sweep.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
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Sade Williams paced the offense with 10 kills and hit .231. She also had eight digs.
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Breanna Shaffer added nine kills on a .280 attack clip and had a service ace.
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Jet Taylor hit an impressive .615 and tallied eight kills in the win to go along with three blocks.
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Cambree Scott led the front row with four blocks and chipped in seven kills.
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Preslee Jensen also had seven kills in the win and tied Scott in blocks with four.
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Hannah Ledgerwood led the way in assists with 21, while
Alexis McMurtrey added 13.
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Hailey Arritola racked up 16 digs and led the way in service aces with two.
For the Rams
• Cintia Lorena led all players with 14 kills and hit .357.
• Kira Rymer added four kills and a pair of blocks.
• Abbey Kleist also had four kills and hit .364 in the loss.
• Ingrid Ferrari paced the front row with a match best five blocks, with three being on a solo effort.
• Kamelia De Jesus had 19 assists and 14 digs for a double-double.
By the Numbers
3 - Eastern is now 3-0 all-time in the NAIA National Championships Opening Round.
9 - The Mountaineers have now hit over .300 in nine matches this season. They are 9-0 in those matches.
17 - With the sweep on Saturday, Eastern has now posted 17 sweeps this season.
8 - The Mountaineers are headed back to the NAIA National Championships final site for the eight consecutive year.
0 - EOU had 0 receptions errors against the Rams, which is a first for the 2021 season.
3 -
Jet Taylor has now hit over .600 in three matches this season.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will now wait and see what pool they will be put in and who their opponents will be for the NAIA National Championships final site. Pool match-ups will be announced by the NAIA tomorrow, Sunday,Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. PT/5 p.m. CT.
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