No. 8 Mountaineers Volleyball Finishes Regular Season Undefeated
EOU Sports Information
LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 8 Eastern Oregon University Volleyball made history over the weekend as the Mountaineers completed the regular season with a pair of wins at home against the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors on Friday and Saturday evening. EOU won 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19) on Friday night and followed it up with a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-17, 25-13) on Saturday.
With the two wins, EOU finished the regular season a perfect 15-0 overall and was 14-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. It is the sixth regular season crown for the Mountaineers in the last seven years and the third consecutive one.
The undefeated season for EOU, is also the first in program history. With the regular season title secured, the Mountaineers will host this year’s CCC Volleyball Tournament on April 9 and 10. EOU has also secured an automatic qualifying bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 3, LC State 1
How it Happened
• For the night, EOU hit .267 and held the Warriors (7-6, 7-6 CCC) to .178. The match was even in service aces at 5-all, while EOU won the blocking battle 6-4.
• The Warriors managed to take the opening set on in the series opener. They held the edge in kills 14-13 and hit .257 to take the first set. EOU hit just .179 in the 25-21 set loss.
• The first set was a close battle for both squads as EOU was notched at a 9-9 tie with LC State. The Warriors surged ahead at 15-11 midway through the set which was the difference. EOU never managed to get closer than two point the rest of the set before falling by four, 25-21.
• Set No. 2 was a close battle yet again with EOU taking the win 25-20 to tie the match at 1-1. Similar to the opening set, it was a close early on, but this time around, the Mountaineers surged to go ahead. EOU got ahead 15-11 to force an LC State timeout and out of the short break the Warriors got within one, 16-15.
• The Mountaineers responded after the Warriors got within one and outscored them 9-5 to end the set at 25-20. With the match tied at 1-all, the Mountaineers never let the Warriors back into the match the rest of the night.
• The third set was all EOU as they held the Warriors to just 13 points to go ahead 2-1 on the night. It was once again a close affair in the set, as the Mountaineers clung to a 10-9 lead near the midway point of the set. It made little difference as EOU surrendered just four points the rest of the way.
• Leading 2-1 overall, EOU held the Warriors to under 20 points for the second straight set to secure the match win. The Warriors battled a bit better in the fourth set as they fell 25-19. LC State kept things close in the early going but it made little difference.
• It was a 12-10 contest early in the fourth, before EOU got ahead 16-11 on the Warriors. The Warriors tried to battle back late and got within four, 22-18, before EOU closed out with a 3-1 run to end the match.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Cambree Scott led the way on day one with 12 kills and hit .320 in the win. She also had four blocks on the night.
• Jet Taylor totaled 11 kills and hit a team best .476 on the night. She also had two blocks in the win.
• Sade Williams and Preslee Jensen each chipped in 10 kills to help the offense. Williams also had four blocks to help pace the defense.
• Madison Pilon dished out four assists in day one and tallied seven digs in the win.
• Kiley McMurtrey had 18 digs to lead the back row.
Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 3, LC State 0
How it Happened
• Day two saw the Mountaineers pick up the sweep as they hit. 376 and limited to the Warriors to a .108 hitting percentage. The Mountaineers had the edge in service aces, 5-2, and blocks, 5-3.
• The opening set saw EOU pick up a 10-point win, 25-15, and for the entire match the Warriors never eclipsed 20 points in any of the three sets.
• It was a close game early at an 8-8 tie, but consistency was key for the Mountaineers from then on as they had answers on both offense and defense. A 5-0 run from the Mountaineers made it 13-8 midway through the opening set.
• The Warriors looked to respond but managed just seven points the rest of the set. EOU pieced together a 6-2 run to go ahead 19-10 late in the set. The two surges by the Mountaineers help them take the set by 10.
• The second set was close in the early going, like the first, but surges and consistency by the Mountaineers was too much for the Warriors to handle. The set was tied at 7-all before EOU propelled itself to an 11-8 lead.
• LC State got within one, 11-10, but the Mountaineers responded once again and went ahead 17-11. The Warriors managed to score two more points in the second set, but it was not enough as the Mountaineers held on to win, 25-17.
• Eastern completed the sweep on day two as they held the Warriors to just 13 points in the third set en route to the 25-13 win. LC State led 8-6 early on but had the lead evaporate as EOU went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 15-8.
• The run by the Mountaineers was too much to overcome for the Warriors who scored just five more points the rest of the way before bowing out in straight sets. The Mountaineers surge was the difference maker in the 12-point set win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Cambree Scott tallied 11 kills to help lead the offense and hit .385 in the win.
• Preslee Jensen hit a game-high .778 as she also tallied seven kills to help pace the Mountaineers offense.
• Sade Williams and Jet Taylor each had six kills and two blocks in the win.
• Kiley McMurtrey tallied 11 digs in the sweep.
• Madison Pilon dished out 16 assists in the win.
By the Numbers
1 – This is the first time in program history EOU has finished the regular season undefeated.
6 – EOU has now won six CCC Regular Season Titles under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead.
15 – EOU’s regular season win streak is capped at 15 consecutive wins.
3 – The Mountaineers played five sets in just three matches in the regular season.
9 – Of the 15 wins for Eastern this season, nine were done in sweeping fashion.
Up Next
• Eastern Oregon will host the CCC Volleyball Tournament next weekend, April 9-10, inside Quinn Coliseum. As the No. 1 seed, the Mountaineers will take on the Bushnell Beacons. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Quinn Coliseum.