BUTTE, Mont. – Senior Makayla Lindburg and junior Amanda Miller both posted double-figure kills, and the No. 8 EOU volleyball team capped The Big Sky Challenge with a three-set (25-16, 25-21, 25-17) victory over No. 9 Vanguard on Saturday night.
The Blue and Gold (7-1) recorded 47 kills and only nine errors on 84 attempts for a .452 clip – the ninth-best percentage in program history.
EOU came at Vanguard from all angles, as Lindburg and Miller hammered down 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Senior setter Rachelle Chamberlain dished out 38 assists, while junior hitter Madisen Garlie and freshman outside hitter Megan Bunn added six kills apiece.
Senior middle hitter Kasaundra Tuma paced EOU's blocking efforts with three (one solo), and sophomore libero Holli Mullins collected 14 digs.
Leading 7-6 in the opening frame, EOU used a kill by Lindburg to spark a 13-8 burst to extend the advantage to six (20-14). Miller put one down to make it a 23-16 game, and the Lions coughed up two attack errors to yield the stanza.
The second stanza saw Vanguard snag an 8-5 lead before EOU fired back with 15 of the next 25 to take control. Chamberlain setup Miller for a kill to lift the Blue and Gold to set point (24-19), and the Lions (1-8) snuck in two more points before Chamberlain attacked for a point of her own to seal the second set.
Set three featured five ties early on, as both squads found themselves knotted at seven apiece. That's when Miller pounded down two-straight kills, and the Mountaineers assembled a 12-4 flurry to command a 19-11 edge. EOU remained in front by at least six for the remainder of the contest, and the Blue and Gold eased its sixth-straight, three-set triumph.Â
BY THE NUMBERS
25 – Kills between Miller and Lindburg.  Â
.452 – EOU's hitting percentage vs. Vanguard – the ninth-best mark in school history. Â
7 – The Mountaineers' current winning streak.
6 – Number of consecutive three-set victories for EOU.
UP NEXT
EOU opens Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play on Thursday against No. 11 College of Idaho. The first serve in La Grande is set for 7 p.m.
Â
