LA GRANDE, Ore. – From junior setter Rachelle Chamberlain becoming the all-time assist leader at EOU, to the Mountaineers winning their 12th-straight contest and booking their best start in program history, it was quite the enchanted evening for the No. 7 Eastern Oregon University volleyball team.

(RV) College of Idaho hung tough and even stole a set from the Navy and Gold as it always seems to do, but the Mountaineers were just a little bit tougher, hanging on for the four-set (25-22, 25-15, 19-25, 25-14) victory over the Yotes on Tuesday night.

"I'm proud of how the girls played tonight," said head volleyball coach Kaki McLean Morehead. "We are playing at a high level right now because of the competition and quality practices we are having. Amanda [Miller] and Sierra [Linke] did a great job of taking care of the ball tonight, and congrats to Rachelle [Chamberlain] for becoming the all-time assist leader."

Key Performances
Junior outside hitter Sierra Linke boasted a career-high 19 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Amanda Miller swung in for a season-best 18 kills of her own.

Chamberlain dished out 51 assists to go along with 11 digs, and senior libero Piper Cantrell paced the back row with a match-high 19 digs.

The Yotes (10-9, 8-3 CCC), who came into the match having won eight of their last nine, were led by Abbey Fenton's 12 kills. In addition, Sierra Porter recorded 40 assists and eight digs.

The Storyline
The first set was neck-and-neck early on until Miller attacked for a quartet of kills amidst an 8-4 run to put the Navy and Gold ahead by five (15-10). Although the Mountaineers led by as many as six (17-11), the Yotes stuck around and eventually tied the frame at 22 apiece after an ace by Kilee Lopez. But thanks to a spark by junior middle hitter Kasaundra Tuma (1 kill, 2 block assists), EOU closed the set on a 3-0 run to take a one-frame advantage.

EOU carried Tuma's flame into the second set, as she swung in for a kill to kickstart a 7-1 run to open the stanza. Leading 21-13, this time it was Miller stepping up for the Mountaineers, as she tallied a pair of kills and a block assist to give the Navy and Gold its first double-digit lead of the match (24-14). Following a point by the Yotes, Tuma attacked for a kill to put the Mountaineers ahead by two sets.

The match appeared to mirror the previous meeting between the two squads on Sept. 3 with College of Idaho fighting back to take the third set. The Yotes outhit the Mountaineers, .303 to .147, and saw Kylie Porter and Katy Robinson combine for seven kills in the stanza to lead their team to a 25-19 third-set triumph.

But much like the match from a month ago, EOU overcame an early deficit in the fourth set to take down College of Idaho in the frame. Trailing by one, the Navy and Gold utilized a 10-2 burst capped by a Tuma kill to snatch a seven-point (20-13) advantage, and the Mountaineers never looked back. Leading 20-14, Linke attacked for three kills amidst a 5-0 run to seal the victory for EOU.

Stats of the Match
2,113 – Career-assists for Chamberlain, a program record.
12 – Straight wins for the EOU volleyball team, a program record.

Up Next
EOU (16-1, 11-0 CCC) returns to Quinn Coliseum on Friday against Northwest Christian at 7 p.m.