ASHLAND, Ore. – The three-time reigning Cascade Collegiate Conference champions picked up right where they left off, sweeping Southern Oregon (25-23, 27-25, 25-17) to open the 2017 conference season on Friday night.

The No. 11 Mountaineers (7-3, 1-0 CCC) extended their winning streak to six games after finishing 4-0 last weekend at the Big Sky Invitational.

Senior Amanda Miller, the reigning CCC Attacker of the Week, continued her offensive dominance with 16 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Miller played an integral role in EOU's close 27-25 second set victory, recording two kills late and ending the set with a service ace.

Both teams finished with 46 kills apiece, but the Mountaineers played cleaner volleyball with a .297 hitting percentage to the Raiders' .193. The Mounties' 12-4 advantage in blocks played a critical role in stopping SOU's attack.

Senior Madisen Garlie led the EOU block party, finishing with three solo blocks and five block assists. She also added seven kills on 17 chances.

Junior Holli Mullins paced the Blue and Gold with 12 digs, followed by freshman Kylie McMurtrey with nine.

Sophomore Hailee Ackerman finished with eight kills to just one error while senior Isabelle Statkus added six kills with no errors. Junior setter Sarah Carpenter posted 20 assists on the night and freshman Madison Pilon dished out 19.

Before closing out the match with a dominant 25-17 third set victory, EOU pulled out back-to-back nail biters. In set one, the Mountaineers took the win 25-23 on a Raider error. Then in set two, trailing 24-23, the Blue and Gold took a timeout and rallied for three-straight points to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Eastern Oregon continues on the road, visiting Oregon Tech on Saturday with first serve at 5 p.m. from Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Live statistics and video links will be available for Saturday's match at eousports.com.
 
For more information on Eastern Oregon volleyball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com.

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Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu