KIRKLAND, Wash. – A school-record 15-straight match wins was snapped on Saturday evening in dramatic fashion, as the No. 7 Eastern Oregon University volleyball team dropped a five-set (22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 10-15) heartbreaker to an inspired Northwest team.

Key Performances
Sophomore middle hitter Emily Nay led the way with 16 kills for EOU, while sophomore outside hitter Amanda Miller registered 15 kills for her sixth-straight double-figure kills match.

Junior setter Rachelle Chamberlain broke the 50+ mark for the fifth time this season with 51 assists, while junior defensive specialist Tylo Colflesh collected a career-high 17 digs for the Navy and Gold.

The Storyline
Although EOU outhit Northwest in the opening stanza, 13-11, the Eagles notched points when it mattered most. A kill by junior middle hitter Kasaundra Tuma and a pair of Northwest attack errors gave EOU a 12-9 first-set lead, but the Eagles tallied five-straight to snatch a 14-12 advantage. A Nay kill brought EOU to within one (19-18), but that's as close as the Navy and Gold would get, as Northwest closed the set on a 6-4 run to take a 1-0 lead.

Set two saw the Eagles leap to a 7-3 advantage after an attack error by the Mountaineers. EOU eventually managed to tie the frame at 14 apiece thanks to a kill by Miller and a block assist by Tuma and sophomore right side hitter Isabelle Statkus. Meanwhile Northwest began to cough up miscues of its own, hitting only .050 in the stanza. A Nay kill lifted EOU to set point (24-19), and then Tuma hammered one into the hardwood to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Navy and Gold swung a match-low .049 in the third stanza en route to the defeat. The Mountaineers overcame a five-point (22-17) deficit and even cut the Eagles' advantage to one on a three occasions, but at set point for Northwest (24-23), Amanda Waterman attacked for one of her 14 kills to seal the frame.

EOU confined Northwest to a .044 clip in the fourth set and attacked for a match-high 16 kills to take the fourth frame, 25-16. Nay smacked one down to cap a 7-2 run to open the set for the Mountaineers, but the Eagles responded to tie the frame at 12 apiece. A Miller kill sparked a 6-1 burst, and Northwest never got closer than two for the remainder of the set.

The fifth and decisive set was something that EOU hadn't seen since Aug. 29 when the Mountaineers took down No. 8 Vanguard in five. But on the other hand, Northwest (14-7, 10-5 CCC) had experienced it just the night before in a loss to College of Idaho, and the Eagles went on to hit its best percentage (.400) of the match to down the Mountaineers. A kill by freshman middle hitter Karlee Hollis cut the Eagles' lead to one (8-7), but the Mountaineers never got any closer in the set en route to the defeat. 

Stat of the Match
14 – Service aces by Northwest, the most allowed by EOU since Aug. 28. 2010.

Up Next
EOU (19-2, 14-1 CCC) will look to bounce back on Oct. 23 against Multnomah in La Grande at 7 p.m.