LA GRANDE, Ore. – Junior middle hitter Kasaundra Tuma registered 14 kills, and the No. 6 Eastern Oregon University volleyball team took down MSU-Northern in straight sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-18) on Friday night in front of a noisy crowd at Quinn Coliseum.

Tuma attacked for a .545 hitting percentage, and the Damascus, Ore., native also tallied four block assists on the evening. Junior setter Rachelle Chamberlain amassed 31 assists and six kills in the victory, while junior defensive specialist Tylo Colflesh paced the defensive end with 15 digs.

After the match, Tuma spoke about her performance and the team's season-opening victory. 

Set two nearly mirrored the first, as the Mountaineers found themselves deadlocked at 18 apiece against a pesky Skylight squad. Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Miller followed with a much-needed kill, and then Tuma followed with one of her own, forcing Northern to call a timeout. At set point (24-21), Chamberlain set up Statkus for the kill to grant EOU the second frame.

In the third stanza, EOU jumped all over Northern early, as a Miller kill capped an 11-0 run to begin the set. The Skylights refused to bow down without a fight and eventually crept to within six (23-17), but Tuma struck again, as she sent the ball into Northern's territory to lift EOU to match point. The Skylights coughed up an attack error for the final point of the match, and the Mountaineers notched their first victory of the 2015 campaign.

Northern was led by Cassie Krueger's eight kills and eight digs.

As a team, EOU attacked for a .218 hitting percentage, compared to a .073 clip by Northern. The Mountaineer defense was nearly impassible, as EOU recorded 15 blocks on the evening.   

EOU returns to action tomorrow against Montana Western in La Grande at 1 p.m.

Match One – Oregon Tech def. MSU-Northern, 3-2 (28-26, 14-25, 25-12, 21-25, 16-14)

In the first match of the day, Oregon Tech saw four different players collect double-figure kills, as the Owls took down Northern in a five-set thriller.

Whitney Webster paced Oregon Tech with 15 kills, while both Kelsey Sampson (12 kills, 10 digs) and Mykala Rubey (11 kills, 11 digs) recorded double-doubles for the Owls.

Meanwhile, Northern was led by Cydney Auzenne, who was the only player for the Skylights to tally double-figure kills with 15.

In the fifth and decisive set, Oregon Tech overcame a two-point deficit late to rally for the wild victory.

Match Two – Montana Western def. Corban, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 28-26)

Match two inside Quinn Coliseum saw the Bulldogs of Montana Western hold off a late comeback attempt by Corban.

After falling behind early and dropping the first two sets, the Warriors found themselves just two points away (23-23) from claiming the third frame. After the two teams traded three points apiece, Corban committed a pair of errors to hand the match to Montana Western.

Both Kyla Paulsen and Bailey Wilson led Montana Western with seven and six kills, respectively, while Corban only managed to strike a -.043 hitting percentage.  

Match Three – Northwest def. Montana Western, 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 14-25, 25-23)

The third team from the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) to see action at the EOU Invitational came up victorious, as the Eagles of Northwest took down Montana Western in four sets.

Both Mattie Jo Johnson and Amanda Waterman logged 10 kills apiece for Northwest, while Morgan Pilon booked 41 assists.

Meanwhile, Montana Western saw 20 digs and 23 assists by Callie Hanson, but it wasn't enough.

After Northwest snagged the first two sets, Montana Western utilized an 11-3 run midway through the third set to fight back. But in the fourth set, it was the Eagles who recovered from a late six-point deficit to fend off the Bulldogs for the victory.