EUGENE, Ore. – For the fifth-consecutive match, the No. 8 Eastern Oregon University volleyball team took down Northwest Christian in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-23), as the Mountaineers improved to 4-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play on Saturday night.

"Even though we struggled against tough NCU serving, for the most part we did our jobs effectively," said head volleyball coach Kaki McLean Morehead. "Our defense is playing great right now and giving us the ability to respond to teams."

Senior outside hitter Kendra De Hoog swung in for a season-high 14 kills, while sophomore middle hitter Emily Nay and sophomore outside hitter Amanda Miller tallied nine and six kills, respectively.

EOU's back row was paced by 10 kills from senior libero Piper Canrell, while junior setter Rachelle Chamberlain dished out 31 assists.

The Navy and Gold outhit the Beacons, 42-31, en route the team's fifth-straight victory. 

The Storyline

In the opening set, EOU jumped to an early 8-3 advantage after Nay and sophomore right side hitter Isabelle Statkus teamed up for a block assist and NCU committed another attack error. The Beacons snuck their way back into the frame thanks to the play of Taylor Burnett, as her kill and an ace by Chandler Gabrio capped an 8-1 run to grant NCU an 11-9 lead.

The stanza proceeded to become a set of runs, as EOU responded with a 4-0 rally that would soon be answered with a 6-2 burst by NCU to give the Beacons a 16-14 advantage.

Later in the set, back-to-back kills by De Hoog and a setting error by the Beacons delivered the Mountaineers a 23-18 lead, and at set point (24-19), De Hoog continued to make her presence known, swinging in for the final kill of the frame to give EOU a 1-0 set lead.

The second stanza almost mirrored the first, as NCU overcame an early deficit with four-unanswered points to take a 13-9 lead. Consecutive kills by Nay and one by Chamberlain knotted the frame at 14 all, and following another Burnett kill, the Navy and Gold went on to score nine of the next 12 points to give itself a little bit of breathing room, 21-16.

NCU fended off a pair of EOU set points to pull within three (24-21) before the Beacons finally surrendered the frame via an attack error.

The third set saw five ties and a trio of lead changes before NCU played catch-up for the remainder of the frame to keep EOU on its toes. After a De Hoog kill gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the set (11-7), the Beacons amassed five unanswered points to snag a one-point (12-11) advantage.

But De Hoog continued to cause NCU (7-4, 0-4 CCC) nightmares, as the Washington native attacked for three-consecutive kills to give EOU the lead for good. At match point (24-23), Chamberlain found Nay for the final kill to dial in EOU's third-straight three-set victory

Up Next

The Navy and Gold (9-1, 4-0 CCC) returns home on Friday to face Northwest at 7 p.m.