Eastern Oregon Sweeps UC Merced to Advance in NAIA National Championships
EOU Sports Information
LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 8 Eastern Oregon University Volleyball picked up win No. 17 of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Mountaineers hosted the University of California, Merced Bobcats in the opening round of the 2020 NAIA Volleyball Championships. EOU dispatched of the Bobcats in straight sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-9) to punch its ticket to the National Championship final site.
For the Mountaineers (17-1), they will make their seventh-straight appearance in the NAIA Championships final site following the win at home. For UC Merced, the team finishes with an overall record of 7-7 and bows out of what was the first ever appearance at the National Tournament for the Bobcats.
How it Happened
• EOU was dominant on both sides of the ball in the sweep as the team hit .343 for the match and held the Bobcats to a negative hitting percentage at -.046. On the front row, the Mountaineers tallied 13 total blocks to just one by UC Merced.
• The first set got off to a solid start for the Mountaineers as they managed to grab a 5-3 lead and led wire-to-wire in the opener en route to the 25-13 win. A kill by the Bobcats made it a 7-5 game before EOU went on a 7-0 to make it a 13-5 contest.
• A trio of kills by Cambree Scott helped in the 7-0 EOU run as the surge played the difference in the first set win. The Mountaineers never allowed the Bobcats to any closer than six points the rest of the set. UC Merced made it a 16-10 contest midway through the set but a 6-0 surge put EOU up 22-10 late.
• The Bobcats looked to respond but managed just three more points the rest of the opening frame before falling 25-13. A kill from Jet Taylor followed by a double block from Preslee Jensen and Scott closed out the set to put EOU ahead 1-0 overall.
• The Bobcats rallied late in the second set and it was the closest set of the night for them before they fell 25-17 and went down 2-0 overall. UC Merced made it a 2-2 tie early and battled back to an 8-all tie before the Mountaineers jumped ahead for the permanent lead.
• With the second set tied at 8-8, the Mountaineers pieced together a 6-0 run to jump ahead 14-8. A key component in the run was the serving of Kaci Cox who had three straight service aces in the run. Despite the run by EOU, a late surge from UC Merced made things a bit interesting late.
• Late in the second set, EOU led 23-14 late before three unanswered points by the Bobcats cut the score to 23-17. The Mountaineers were able to respond as a service error by UC Merced followed by a kill from Scott ended set No. 2 at 25-17.
• The third set was controlled by the Mountaineers from the onset as they led wire-to-wire in the 25-9 win over the Bobcats to secure the sweep. Eastern raced out to a 7-1 lead before UC Merced got a second point on the board.
• The early surge from the Mountaineers was all it took as the Bobcats only managed eight more points. The final UC Merced point came when it was a 19-8 score. A kill made it 19-9 before EOU ended the contest on a 6-0 run to walk away victors in straight sets.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Cambree Scott paced the offense with eight kills in the win and hit .538 on the day. She totaled six blocks on defense as well.
• Jet Taylor was a force on both sides of the ball with eight kills and seven total blocks.
• Sade Williams posted five kills in the sweep and had three blocks.
• Preslee Jensen had five blocks and posted two kills in the win.
• Madison Pilon tallied 13 assists and had a service ace. She posted a double-double with the help of 11 digs as well to lead the way for EOU.
• Both Kiley McMurtrey and Kaci Cox had three service aces in the win.
For the Bobcats
• Lexus Lagumbay led the UC Merced offense with seven kills and had six digs in the loss.
• Olivia Harden had five kills in the match.
• Olanasaze Ojo chipped in four kills in the loss.
• Serena Choi had 16 assists to lead all players and had four digs.
• Both Edwena Wong and Lagumbay both had six digs to lead the back row.
By the Numbers
7 – The Mountaineers have now made it to the final site for the NAIA Championships in seven consecutive seasons.
6 – In seven games played at home this season, EOU picked up six win and finished 6-1 inside Quinn Coliseum.
77 – Setter Madison Pilon has now posted double-digit assists in 77 consecutive matches.
6 – The Mountaineers have now posted double figure total blocks in six matches this season.
10 – The 10 service aces for EOU in Saturday's win matches a single game high this season.
Quotable
Head Coach Kaki McLean Morehead
On the team winning in straight sets: I was happy and impressed with the sense of urgency our team came out with today. We got out quick and our ability to score in transition was really good. We had talked as a team about being more consistent in the beginning of matches and I felt we did that really well in the win today.
The performance of the front row and its blocking: The biggest thing we talk about in this aspect of our game is being on time to the ball and communicating throughout. I felt we got better with this as the match went on and our rotation up front was on point on defense. We really showed our ability to adapt to the speed of the match and helped us get the job done.
On making it the final site for the National Championships: It's honestly a great feeling that we got to play at home one last time this season. To be able to win like that and carry that momentum to the final site is great. The atmosphere [inside Quinn Coliseum] was phenomenal and for our three seniors getting to play at home one more time is pretty special.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers advance to the final site of the National Championships and will enter pool play. The seeding and grouping that EOU will be grouped into will be announced Monday, April 19.