Volleyball 12/3/2019 1:51:00 PM Iain Dexter, EOU Sports Information Director No. 7 Mounties Open Nationals with 4-Set Win over Madonna SIOUX CITY, Iowa. – A first set loss gave the No. 7 Eastern Oregon volleyball team the jolt it needed as they went onto defeat Madonna University in four sets (19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22) on Tuesday morning in the first pool play match of the NAIA Championships. The Mountaineers (30-3) snagged their 30th win of the year to open the national tournament, defeating the Crusaders (25-13) who are receiving votes in the top-25 poll. A slow start saw the Mounties trailing 1-0 in the match after falling 25-19 in the opening set. Madonna hit .343 in the set with just three errors to 15 kills as EOU was yet to find their legs on the block. This changed the rest of the match as the block picked up its play to force Madonna into 21 attack errors over the final three sets. The Mounties earned a crushing 25-17 win in set two to tie the match at 1-1. The Blue and Gold rolled off wins in closer third and fourth sets to down the Crusaders and start the tournament on a high note. Senior Megan Bunn was sharp for the Mounties, finishing with a double-double of 20 kills and 19 digs, hitting .263 on 57 total attacks. Sophomore Jet Taylor added 12 kills and had four total blocks, followed by senior Hailee Ackerman with 10 kills. Sophomore Cambree Scott added eight kills and four blocks. Junior Madison Pilon posted 49 assists and 11 digs for a double-double of her own. Junior Kiley McMurtrey led the team with 20 digs while junior Aspen Christiansen had 13. The Mounties were faced with a tough pair of attackers for the Crusaders in Jodie Kelly, who posted 24 kills and Janelle Kwasiborski, who tallied 19 and a .441 hitting percentage. EOU held the rest of the team to just 14 kills combined, however, with 16 errors The Mounties next face No. 24 Reinhardt on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Central Time, 8 a.m. Pacific Time For more information on Eastern Oregon volleyball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com. FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu