LA GRANDE, Ore.- The No. 1 ranked and seeded Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers earned their place in Sioux City, Iowa for the NAIA National Volleyball Tournament final site thanks to a 3-0 sweep of the University of Mobile Rams. Mobile gave the Mounties a run for their money in the first set but couldn't hold off EOU's firepower in the final two. Eastern took the sweep, 28-26, 25-10, and 25-17.
A tight first set saw the Rams take Eastern to the wire with the lead exchanging hands several times. A 4-0 run at the end of the set had the Rams ahead 25-24, but they couldn't hold on as a couple errors and a Hailey Arritola service ace put them away.
The second and third sets were all EOU as the Mountaineers proved why they deserved to host the opening round matchup. An early 6-0 run helped the Mounties jump out to an 8-2 lead and EOU didn't take their foot off the gas hitting .423 with 14 kills. The Mountaineers ended the set on a 4-0 run to win by 15, 25-10.
A set away from punching their ticket to Sioux City, Eastern jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead. The Rams did their best to rally hitting their highest percentage of the day at .143 but it wasn't enough. An Ashton Haughton kill sealed the deal for the Mounties as they took the third set and match with a 25-17 victory.
With the win Eastern has officially reserved their spot in pool play at the final site in the NAIA National Tournament. The Mountaineers will await the results of several other Opening Round matches to see who they will take on to begin pool play at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Pool play is scheduled to start on Wednesday, Nov. 30
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Mounties strong defense held Mobile to 27 kills on .060 hitting
- The NAIA leader in blocks, Eastern did what they do best and were one block away from double digits with nine
- EOU held the advantage in every major statistical category including points, kills, aces, blocks, assists, and digs
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
- EOU
- Preslee Jensen: 10 kills, .259 H%, 1 block
- Kara Clayton: 9 kills, .563 H%, 2 service aces, 6 blocks, 2 digs
- Alexis McMurtrey: 22 assists, 2 service aces, 5 digs
- Mobile
- Corrina Porch-Maxey: 7 kills, .143 H%, 3 blocks, 5 digs
- Aleah Kennedy: 6 kills, .375 H%, 2 blocks