No. 7 EOU Volleyball Sweeps Northwest, Wins Sixth Straight

LA GRANDE, Ore. – Three different players recorded double-figure kills for the No. 7 Eastern Oregon University volleyball team, and the Navy and Gold collected its sixth-consecutive triumph of the 2015 season with a three-set win (25-18, 25-23, 25-17) over Northwest on Friday night.

"I'm proud of how consistent our girls played tonight," said head volleyball coach Kaki McLean Morehead. "Northwest is a tough team that served us really aggressively. Our defense, as well as our offense, did a great job of finding a way even in pressure situations."

Key Performances

Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Miller led the way with 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Kendra De Hoog and sophomore right side hitter Isabelle Statkus tallied 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

Directing EOU's offense was once again junior setter Rachelle Chamberlain, as she dished out 39 assists to go along with 10 digs.

Meanwhile, senior libero Piper Cantrell and junior defensive specialist Tylo Colflesh chipped in 13 and 10 digs, respectively.

The Storyline

Leading by just two (11-9) in the opening set, a kill by Statkus ignited a 9-1 run capped by a Miller kill to grant EOU its largest lead of the match (20-10), forcing Northwest to call a timeout.

Although the Eagles responded with a 5-1 run that included a pair of aces by junior libero Leia Roy to cut EOU's lead to six (21-15), the Mountaineers never trailed by less than five for the remainder of the frame. At set point (24-18), Chamberlain setup De Hoog for the kill to give the Navy and Gold a one-set lead.

A more intense second set saw eight ties and a trio of lead changes, and the Mountaineers found themselves trailing by four (18-14) midway through the frame. A pair of kills by De Hoog and one by sophomore middle hitter Emily Nay sliced the deficit to one (18-17), but the Eagles added two more to take a 20-17 advantage.

Trailing 21-20, Miller collected back-to-back kills to give EOU the lead for good, and at set point (24-23), Northwest coughed up an attack error to yield the second frame to the Navy and Gold.

In the third set, a kill by junior middle hitter Kasaundra Tuma capped a 10-4 run to open the stanza for EOU. After Chamberlain attacked for a kill to put the Mountaineers on top by seven (19-12), she teamed up with Tuma for the block assist to give EOU its largest lead of the set, 20-12. At match point (24-17), De Hoog logged one of her 11 kills to seal the three-set victory for the Navy and Gold.

The Eagles (8-4, 4-2 CCC) were paced by freshman outside hitter Sydney Schlect's 10 kills, while Roy served a match-high four aces.

Stat of the Match

47 – Kills by EOU, it's second-highest total in a three-set match this season.

Up Next

The Mountaineers (10-1, 5-0 CCC) return to the hardwood tomorrow against Evergreen in La Grande at 5 p.m.