CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon University returned to action Friday taking on Arizona Christian and No. 5 Viterbo to kick off the 2024 season. EOU didn't skip a beat as they swept ACU (25-17, 25-16, 25-16) and took three of four sets against the No. 5-ranked V-Hawks (25-23, 18-25, 25-14, 25-18) in Caldwell, Idaho. The Mountaineers are slated to take on two more opponents in the College of Idaho-hosted tournament tomorrow. EOU will play Morningside University at 9 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. first serve against Montana Western.
GAME 1
Eastern Oregon University opened its volleyball season with a dominant 3-0 sweep over Arizona Christian University on Friday morning in Caldwell. The Mountaineers won each set decisively with scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-16.
Eastern Oregon's offense was highly efficient, posting a .393 hitting percentage with 40 kills against just 5 errors on 89 total attempts. Keira Vaughn led the attack, recording 7 kills on 9 attempts with a .778 hitting percentage. Emma Burlingame also made a significant contribution with 8 kills on 17 attempts, hitting .471 for the match.
The Mountaineers' defense was equally impressive, limiting Arizona Christian to a .200 hitting percentage. They tallied 33 digs, led by Hannah Ledgerwood with 9 followed closely by Hailey Arritola with 8. Eastern stifled the Firestorm's offensive efforts at the net with 12 blocks, six coming from Kiauna Mack.
Arizona Christian's top performers included Emmi Jacobus and Sydney Brown, who each had 7 kills, but the team struggled with consistency throughout the match.
GAME 2
Eastern Oregon University secured its second victory of the season with a 3-1 win over Viterbo University later in the afternoon at the JA Albertson Activities Center in Caldwell. The Mountaineers took the match with set scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-14, and 25-18.
Eastern Oregon's offense was paced by Keira Vaughn once again, who recorded 17 kills on 36 attempts, hitting .306. Kiauna Mack stepped into an offensive role in game two adding 10 kills while hitting at a .529 clip. The Mountaineers hit .239 as a team, with 52 kills in the game.
Defensively, Eastern Oregon tallied 63 digs, led by Hailey Arritola with 18, and registered 21 blocks, led by the dynamic duo of Mack and Mylie Mills who had six and five blocks respectively. Viterbo was held to a .091 hitting percentage by the Mountie defense.
Viterbo's Martina McGrath led her team with 12 kills on 25 attempts, but it wasn't enough to overcome the balanced attack and strong defense of the Mountaineers.