SIOUX CITY, Iowa - No. 12 Eastern Oregon Volleyball closed out the 2021 season Wednesday afternoon taking on the No. 5 College of Saint Mary Flames. The Mountaineers won the first set before falling in the next three (25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 22-25). With the loss, EOU finishes the 2021 season at 26-9.
How it Happened
• The Flames (27-6) had the edge in hitting at .240-.200 and racked up 67 kills while holding the Mountaineers to 51. EOU won the battle up front with a 10-6 advantage in blocking.
• Also helping CSM in the win was a 5-2 lead in service aces and an 81-67 advantage in digs in the back row.
• In the lone set win for Eastern, they outhit the Flames .152-.051 despite CSM having the edge in kills 14-9.
• The opening set was a close one in the beginning with neither team leading by more than three points. EOU trailed 11-8 before a 6-0 run put the team in front 14-11.
• The Flames stayed within striking distance despite the surge and managed to cut it to a one-point battle, 16-15, midway through. Eastern then scored three straight to go up 19-15 and force a CSM timeout.
• The closest the Flames got was within two at 21-19 before the Mountaineers closed out the set, 25-20.
Breanna Shaffer helped close out the set totaling two kills, while a double block from
Sade Williams and
Cambree Scott finished things off.
• The second set score mirrored the first only it went in the Flames favor. CSM went on to win the next three sets all together with each one being a close fight through and through.
• The two squads traded points and the lead early on with neither leading by more than two. CSM led 9-7 before EOU scored four straight to go in front 11-9.
• EOU's final lead of the frame came at 13-12 before CSM surged ahead 15-13 and never relinquished the lead.
• The Mountaineers got within one point, 18-17, late but never managed to tie. The Flames lead grew to 20-17 before they closed out the set with the five-point win, 25-20.
• EOU jumped ahead 2-0 to start in the third but it once again became a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. They traded points and the lead before CSM jumped ahead 10-8 and held the lead for the majority of the set.
• Eastern stayed within 1-2 points of CSM and eventually tied the frame at 15-all. The Flames never let EOU get in front though to hang on for the win.
• Late in the third, EOU tied the contest up again, 21-21, but a 3-0 surge by CSM made it a 24-21 game. The Mountaineers scored two straight to get within one before a Flames kill ended the set at 25-23.
• CSM had a solid start in the fourth set and grabbed a 10-6 lead early on to force an EOU timeout. The Mountaineers then went on a 4-1 run to cut the Flames lead to just one, 11-10.
• CSM managed to stay in front despite the Mountaineers' best efforts. Late in the frame EOU tied the contest at 18-all but a 4-0 run by the Flames was the difference.
• The 4-0 surge from the Flames gave them a 22-18 lead late. Easter made one final effort at a comeback and cut the score to 22-21, but CSM allowed just one more point and held on for the 25-22 win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•
Cambree Scott had 13 kills to pace the offense and racked up a match-high six blocks.
•
Breanna Shaffer hit a team best .289 for 13 kills. She also had 13 digs for the double-double.
•
Sade Williams chipped in eight kills while hitting .240 and had five blocks.
•
Alexis McMurtrey had a double-double with 28 assists and 15 digs.
•
Hailey Arritola tied McMurtrey for the team lead in digs with 15.
For the Flames
• Rosa Reed-Bouley led all players with a match-high 18 kills on a .412 attack clip.
• Elizabeth Dlouhy and Kamryn Willman each had 11 kills in the win. Willman led the way in blocks with four.
• Lexi Langley had a double-double with 10 kills and a match best 19 digs.
• Makenna Freeman also had a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
• Dani Prusha had a match-high 54 assists and tallied 14 digs for a double-double performance.
By the Numbers
1 - This is the first time in program history EOU did not win a single pool play match.
6 -
Cambree Scott had six blocks in both pool play matches to finish with 12.
50 - The Mountaineers racked up 50-plus kills in both matches during pool play.
10 - Eastern finished with 10 or more total blocks in both pool play matches.
4 - Four seniors wrapped up their EOU careers on Wednesday in
Kaci Cox,
Tausha Cummins,
Breanna Shaffer, and
Jet Taylor.
Quotable
Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead
Thoughts on the team's performance this week: It was pretty disappointing to not only finish the way we did but also to play the way we did. There are a lot of things that we can do better and we just didn't execute them the last couple of days. We have a talented group of players and it showed multiple times during the season. It just was not our week while at Nationals.
Thoughts on the 2021 season: This season had a lot of ups and downs and to have the success we have had in a tough conference is still a great finish. We made it to the final site of the National Championships for the eighth year in a row. We did not have the outcome we wanted but hopefully this leaves the returners hungry for the future. Overall, I am proud of how this team did especially with the returners who basically played two full seasons in a calendar year.
Final words to the four seniors Kaci Cox, Tausha Cummins, Breanna Shaffer, and Jet Taylor: I am thankful for this group of seniors and everything they did for this program. Each one made sacrifices and contributions day-in and day-out to help us win. Their commitment to excellence and work toward trying to win a national championship is all that a coach can ask for. We wish them all the best going forward.
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