SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In Friday morning's winner-take-all Pool A finale, No. 1 Eastern Oregon University defeated No. 16 St. Thomas (Fla.) 25-22, 25-15, 23-25, 25-13 inside the Tyson Events Center to secure a spot in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Quarterfinals.
With the victory, the Mountaineers (31-2) advance to the national quarterfinals for the fourth straight season and close out pool play at 2-0.
EOU jumped out quickly in the opening set behind an early kill from Brooke Womack, building a 5-1 advantage before the Bobcats settled in. STU chipped back to within one at 10-9, but Womack and the senior blocking tandem of Emma Burlingame and Kiauna Mack steadied the Mounties. Burlingame later pushed the lead to 18-15, though St. Thomas surged to tie the frame at 20. After 44 uninterrupted points without a timeout, EOU finally broke through, capitalizing on back-to-back Bobcat errors out of a timeout before a Keira Vaughn kill earned set point. Another STU miscue secured a 25-22 start for the Mountaineers.
Burlingame opened the second set with a kill, and Eastern's offense quickly found its rhythm. Vaughn and Mylie Mills teamed for a key block to make it 7-3, and a combination of Mountaineer pressure and Bobcat errors widened the margin to 13-8. Womack followed with an ace, and EOU's defense continued to clamp down, holding STU to .000 hitting in the frame. A late block from Mills and kills from Vaughn and Burlingame sealed a commanding 25-15 win.
The third set opened with clean volleyball on both sides, highlighted by back-to-back Womack kills and a service ace from Kate Stidham. Tied 10-10, Eastern momentarily took control with kills from Mills, Mack, and Womack to force an STU timeout, but the Bobcats flipped momentum out of the break, taking eight of the next nine points to go up 18-15. St. Thomas reached 20 points first and held off a late Mountaineer surge featuring three big kills from Vaughn to take the frame 25-23.
EOU's response in the fourth set was emphatic, as Mack and Vaughn opened with two kills each, and Mills and Vaughn stuffed an attack to put EOU ahead 5-4. STU stayed close, tying the set at 12-12, but that proved to be the Bobcats' final foothold. The Mountaineers erupted with a 13-1 run that overwhelmed St. Thomas and put the match out of reach. Mills and McKenzie Jonas combined for a pivotal block to spark the surge, and after an STU timeout at 15-12, Ava Semprimoznik delivered a timely ace. Burlingame followed with another kill from a Mills assist, and Semprimoznik added a second ace moments later as the lead ballooned. Five straight STU errors pushed Eastern to the brink, and Brooklyn Willard closed the match with a service ace to secure the 25-13 win.
Vaughn led the way with 18 kills on .349 hitting, while Womack—who was named NAIA Volley Report Player of the Game for the second straight contest—added an 11-kill, 11-dig double-double. Mack was outstanding with 10 kills at a .391 clip and four blocks, while Mills anchored the net defensively with a match-high six blocks and Jonas added four more. Stidham and Semprimoznik combined for 44 assists, and Willard and Jaycee Villastrigo shared the team lead with 12 digs each. Eastern out-blocked the Bobcats 10-6 and held a 5-1 edge from the service line.
Eastern Oregon advances to Saturday's NAIA Quarterfinals and will face No. 8 McPherson College (Kan.) tomorrow, December 6, at 11 a.m. CT.