SALEM, Ore. - No. 13 Mountaineers Volleyball dropped a heartbreaker Friday night as they fell in five sets (26-24, 19-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-12) to in-state rival No. 6 Corban on the road. With the loss, Eastern Oregon moves to 15-5 overall and is now 10-2 in conference play.

How it Happened
• The Mountaineers held a .200-.177 edge in hitting percentage and is in front 2-1 overall in the match but was unable to close out and secure the win. 
• Helping the Warriors (18-0, 12-0 CCC) in the win was a 105 edge in service aces and a63-54 advantage in kills. EOU's defense played a big role in the near win with a 11-7 edge in blocks.
• In the first set, extra points were needed as the Mountaineers grabbed a 26-24 win to go up 1-0. 12 kills from EOU on a .182 hitting percentage helped the team grab the early lead.
• In the opening set, the Warriors raced out to a 6-2 lead before the Mounties established a rhythm to slowly get back into that match. A 5-1 run by Eastern forced a tie at 7-all before a double block from Breanna Shaffer and Jet Taylor made it an 8-7 lead for EOU.
• Despite going ahead, Corban answered and surged ahead 12-8 on a 5-0 run. The mountaineers once again chipped away at the lead before jumping back ahead 18-17 on a kill from Shaffer.
• Going into the later half of the opening set, it was a back-and-forth scoring affair as neither team managed to lead by more than one. EOU led 24-23 before a Warriors kill tied things up at 24-all.
• Closing out the first frame was the swing of Preslee Jensen and Morgan. Jensen got a kill to make it 25-24 before Morgan closed out the set with a kill to give EOU a 1-0 lead.
• The Warriors responded in the second set with a wire-to-wire win by a final of 25-19. It was close early on as EOU trailed 5-4, but a 6-1 run by Corban made it a 10-6 contest.
• Eastern made a push after going down and got within one, 10-9, but never got over the hump to tie or take the lead. Corban then surged ahead 15-10 and held a 5-6 lead the rest of the way before securing the set two win to tie things up at 1-1.
• Momentum did not transition over into the third set as the Mountaineers won 25-18 and grabbed the 2-1 lead. 13 kills by Eastern on a stout .400 hitting percentage was key in the win.
• The set started off as a back-and-forth affair as the two squads battled to a 9-9 tie. A set error by the Warriors put the Mountaineers ahead 10-9 and they never looked back.
• A string of errors by the Warriors offense pushed EOU's lead to 13-9 before they scored again. The Mounties lead grew to 15-11 before Corban made one final push to close the gap.
• The Warriors got within three, 16-13, but mustered just five more points the rest of the set before dropping the set. Back-to-back attack errors by Corban closed the set at 25-18.
• Set No. 4 once again delivered as another slugfest brewed between the two squads and extra points were needed once again. EOU jumped ahead 3-0 early but a 7-2 run by Corban gave them a 7-5 lead.
• The Warriors pushed their lead to 10-8 before a 5-2 surge by the Mountaineers gave them a 13-12 lead. The two teams then traded points the rest of the way with multiple ties.
• Late in the set it was a 20-all tie and anyone's set to win. EOU called timeout after Corban tied the match. Out of the quick break EOU scored two straight to lead, 22-20, and forced a Corban timeout.
• Eastern clung to a 24-23 lead before a 4-1 rally by the Warriors closed out the set and gave them a 27-25 win to force a fifth and decisive set.
• The fifth set did not disappoint with both teams once again trading points. The Mountaineers had leads of 4-3 and 9-8 but it was late in the set where the Warriors pulled away for the win.
• Corban led 13-10 before three consecutive errors brought the score to 14-12. EOU looked to answer late but a kill from the Warriors closed the set out at 15-12 and the match at 3-2. 

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Breanna Shaffer led the charge with a double-double posting 16 kills and 13 digs, She also hit a team best .295 in the match.
• Sade Williams also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs. She and Shaffer combined for seven total blocks.
• Cambree Scott added 11 kills in the loss and posted a match best eight blocks.
• Alexis McMurtrey dished out 30 assists and had a match-high 19 digs for a double-double. She also led the team in service aces with two.

For the Warriors
• Rylee Troutman led all players with 18 kills and had 13 digs for a double-double. She also had a match high six service aces.
• Avari Ridgway also had a double-double with 13 kills and a team high 16 digs.
• Sarena Bartley added 13 kills in the win on a .214 hitting percentage.
• Allyson Reid hit .444 with 10 kills and had a team best six blocks in the win.
• Ciarra Judson led the way in assists with 27 and added nine digs.
• Jadyn Mulled added 24 assists and tallied 15 digs for a double-double.

By the Numbers
9 - The Mountaineers win streak is snapped at nine. Their last loss before the win streak was also against Corban.
1 - This is the first time EOU has ever lost both regular season matches against Corban under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead.
16 - With the loss on Friday, EOU's road win streak, dating back to the 2019 regular season, ends at 16.
 2 - EOU is just the second team this season to hit .200 or better against Corban this season.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 9 against Bushnell University. First serve against the Beacons is set for 5 p.m. PT in Eugene, Ore.

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