SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Despite going swing for swing with the defending champions on Monday night, Eastern Oregon University saw its 2025 season come to an end in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Semifinals. The Mountaineers fell 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-11 to No. 4-seed Indiana Wesleyan in a five-set battle that reinforced their place among the nation's best.
The loss closes EOU's season at 32-3 and caps a run to the program's third national semifinal as the Mounties once again went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats on the biggest stage.
Indiana Wesleyan came out firing in the opening frame, racing to a 16-7 lead. Eastern finally settled in and responded with a 7-1 run featuring kills from Brooke Womack, McKenzie Jonas, and Keira Vaughn, a smooth dump from setter Ava Semprimoznik, and a block from Jonas and Kiauna Mack as EOU clawed back into the set. Still trailing 20-14, Vaughn caught fire, rattling off four kills to drag the Mountaineers within striking distance, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome and the Wildcats held on for a 25-20 win.
The second set felt like the true start of the heavyweight fight EOU came to Sioux City expecting. Once again the Wildcats jumped ahead, this time 8-4, but the Mounties were unfazed. Down 20-17, Eastern mounted a late charge sparked by its trademark toughness at the net. Mack hammered a kill, then teamed up with Jonas for a momentum-swinging block to pull within one. Vaughn added another kill, and Madison Vaughn stepped to the service line and delivered a timely ace to push Eastern in front 22-21. Indiana Wesleyan briefly steadied, tying the set at 23 with a kill and an ace, but the Mountaineers had the last word. Keira Vaughn delivered again with a clutch kill, and Mylie Mills followed with the set-sealing swing to cap a 25-23 win that evened the match and shifted the pressure back to the Wildcats.
The third set was Eastern Oregon at its best. The Mounties grabbed the first point on a Wildcat service error, then went to work. Vaughn and Mack each added early kills, then combined for a block to make it 4-2. After IWU answered with three straight points to edge ahead 5-4, Eastern punched right back, taking the next four thanks in part to Vaughn's relentless attacking and a big block from Mills and Emma Burlingame. From there the Mounties controlled the frame. Womack notched back-to-back kills to push the lead to 15-10, and the Wildcats never fully recovered from the surge. An Indiana Wesleyan error closed out a 25-19 Eastern win as the Mountaineers hit an efficient .452 in the set and moved one step away from the first national championship appearance in program history.
Indiana Wesleyan answered with the urgency of a reigning champion in the fourth. Eastern again started strong, jumping ahead 5-2, but the Wildcats caught fire and flipped the frame with a decisive 12-2 run that swung momentum sharply back to their side. The Mounties kept battling, trading kills and staying aggressive, but the gap remained at six points. IWU's offense, which hit .375 in the set, closed it out with three straight kills to force a deciding fifth and set up a race to 15 with a spot in the national final on the line.
The decisive set delivered every bit of drama a national semifinal should. Womack put Eastern on the board with a kill, and after an early back-and-forth, the Mountaineers surged in front 6-3 with a four-point run. Even after Indiana Wesleyan chipped away, the Mounties still held the edge at the midway point. Mack came up with key kills to keep Eastern in front as the Wildcats worked to tie it at 9 and again at 10. From there, the margin vanished. IWU finally nudged ahead 11-10 and never trailed again, closing the night on a five-point run to take the set 15-11, the match 3-2, and the ticket to the national championship, bringing Eastern's 32-3 season to a close.
The Mounties finished with 56 kills on .199 hitting, led by a 20-kill performance from Keira Vaughn, who once again delivered in the biggest moments. Womack added 13 kills and 22 digs in a strong two-way effort, and Mack capped her career with 9 kills and a team-high 5 blocks in the middle. Burlingame chipped in 6 kills and was in on several key blocks that helped slow the Wildcat attack during Eastern's second- and third-set surge. At the net, the Mounties totaled 7 team blocks while setters Semprimoznik and Kate Stidham orchestrated the offense with 21 and 26 assists, respectively. In the back row, Eastern edged the Wildcats in digs, 93-91, led by Jaycee Villastrigo's 23 and Stidham's 19 as the Mounties covered the floor from line to line.
The loss wraps up another strong season for the powerhouse that is Eastern Oregon volleyball, which spent nearly the entire year at the top of the NAIA rankings and reached the national semifinals for the third time in program history. For seniors Mack and Burlingame, Monday night marked the end of their playing careers with the Mountaineers, but the standard of toughness and consistency they helped establish will carry forward in the seasons to come.