LA GRANDE, Ore. - 12th-ranked Mountaineers Volleyball begins its hunt for an NAIA National Championship Saturday evening in the opening round against a foe from across the country. Eastern Oregon, who is in its eighth postseason appearance, will look to make it back to the final site.

OPPONENT
Columbia International Rams (29-8, 18-2 AAC)

WHERE
La Grande, Ore. - Quinn Coliseum

WHEN
Saturday, Nov. 20 - 4 p.m. PT

First Serve
• The Mountaineers (25-7, 19-3 CCC) plays the role of host for the second straight year as they play host to a team from the other side of the United States in CIU.
• Eastern Oregon and CIU's match-up will be the first ever for the two squads as CIU started its volleyball program in 2018.
• The winner of the opening round site will advance to the NAIA National Championship final site which is once again being held in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center.

EOU Athletics Spectator Policy
• Spectators will be allowed at EOU sporting events, but masks will be required to be worn correctly (over mouth AND nose) at ALL indoor and outdoor events per state and local policy. This is subject to change at any time.
• Failure to comply with conference or institutional attendance policies will result in removal from venue and any further EOU contests.
• General Admission is allowed for both indoor and outdoor events and is on a first come, first serve basis. To see ticket prices for individual EOU sporting events and to purchase tickets, click here.
• Concessions will be available for outdoor EOU athletic events, but not indoor EOU athletic events.
• Students, faculty, and staff wishing to attend indoor EOU Athletic Events can do so for FREE by showcasing their EOU ID card.

How to Watch/Follow
• All home games this year will be webcast on the Mountie Sports Network at www.EOUSports.com/watch. All EOU home games will be Pay-Per-View and can be purchased for $7.95 per game. Fans can also purchase an Eastern Oregon All-Access pass to watch all 2021-22 EOU home sporting events for $100.
• Livestreams for all home games will begin 15 minutes prior to first serve.
• Live stats coverage for EOU Volleyball games this season can be accessed at www.eousports.com/livestats.

All CCC-Mountaineers
• The CCC announced its 2021 All-Conference Teams and the Mountaineers were well represented with five selections.
• For EOU, Cambree Scott, Breanna Shaffer, and Sade Williams were all named First Team All-CCC. Garnering Second Team All-CCC honors was Jet Taylor, while Hailey Arritola was named Honorable Mention All-CCC.

Story Lines
• The Mountaineers are making their eighth straight appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.
• The 2021 postseason appearance for CIU is the first in the program's young history.
•  Eastern Oregon is 2-0 all-time in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships.
• The Mountaineers are a staggering 9-2 at home this season.

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• The Mountaineers went 1-1 in the CCC Tournament making it to the championship match before bowing out.
• EOU downed Oregon Tech, 3-2, in the semifinal round before falling 3-1 to Corban University in the championship.

Previously Against Columbia International
• Saturday's meeting marks the first ever match-up against the Rams.

EOU in the Polls
• EOU remains at No. 12 in the final regular season edition of the NAIA women's volleyball coaches' top-25 poll.
• In the CCC preseason poll, Eastern was picked to win the conference ahead of Corban and Southern Oregon. The Mountaineers tallied eight first place votes and totaled 140 points.
• The final NAIA Top-25 poll of 2021 will be released Monday, Dec. 6.

Three's Company
• Of the Mountaineers' 32 matches so far this season, 18 have ended in straight sets.
• EOU has fared well in three-set matches with a 16-2 record.
• The only 3-0 losses for EOU have come against ranked opponents in Bellevue (Neb.) and Corban.
• In four-set matches this year, EOU is 7-2 with the losses coming against OIT and Corban.

Home Sweet Home
• Since 2011, EOU has fared well at home in the past decade with a 108-12 record.
• In that span, the Mountaineers have never lost more than two games at home.
• Under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead, EOU is 140-22 at home.
• The Mountaineers have posted two undefeated seasons at home under Morehead in 2013 and 2016.

Road Warriors
• Dating back to the 2019 regular season, EOU has won 21 of its last 23 matches.
• Under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead, the Mountaineers are 115-47 in true road contests.

Scouting the Competition
Columbia International Rams
• The Rams come to La Grande with a 29-8 overall record and went 18-2 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. They were the AAC Co-Regular Season Champions and were the AAC Tournament Runner-Up.
• CIU was an impressive 12-0 at home during the regular season and were just as tough on the road going 9-3. In neutral site action, the Rams were 8-5 as well.
• Although a young program in terms of age (est. 2018), CIU is paced by four All-AAC athletes and the AAC Coach of the Year. Amber Haver is in her fourth year leading the Rams and boasts a 84-61 record.
• Garnering All-Conference honors this year for CIU was Kamelia De Jesus (1st Team), Kira Rymer (1st Team), Ingrid Ferrari (1st Team), and Cinitia Lorena (2nd Team). Along with that De Jesus was named the AAC Setter of the Year, while Lorena was tabbed Freshman of the Year and named to the All-Freshman Team.
• Offensively, the Rams average 12.2 kills per set and have a .230 attack clip. They dish out 11.1 assists per set and have totaled 229 service aces this year.
• Defensively, CIU is holding opponents to under 10 kills per set at 9.5 and just a .085 hitting percentage. CIU is racking up 15.3 digs per set and up front that tally 2.6 blocks per set.
• Rymer is one of two players with 300-plus kills at 372 to lead the way. She averages 3.10 kills per set and sports a .343 attack clip. 
• Second in kills is Lorena with 333. She is hitting .254 and averages 2.78 kills per set. Sheis second in blocks at 81 total and has had 15 solo blocks.
• Alana Sanjurjo is third in kills with 281 and averages 2.30 per set. She is hitting just .144 on the year but leads the team in service aces with 51.
• De Jesus has been the floor general for the Rams with an impressive 1,034 assists. She averages 8.75 per set and is second in service aces with 35. 
• Ferrari is the defensive leader up front for CIU with 159 total blocks this season. She has fared well on her own with 72 solo blocks. Offensively, she averages 1.36 kills per set.
• Karla Rodriguez is the leader in the back row with 490 digs on the year. She averages 3.92 digs per set and boasts a .932 reception percentage. She also has 29 service aces this year.
• Second in digs is De Jesus who has 339 and averages 2.72 per set. Right behind her is Sanjurjo  with 315 for an average of 2.58.

NAIA Opening Round Notes (Courtesy of NAIA Communications)
• For the second time, all qualifying teams will play in an opening round match before advancing to the final site.
• The 24 Opening Round hosts are Bellevue (Neb.), Central Methodist (Mo.), Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Neb.), Corban (Ore.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Dordt (Iowa), Eastern Oregon, Grand View (Iowa), Indiana Wesleyan, Jamestown (N.D.), Marian (Ind.), Midland (Neb.), Missouri Baptist, Montana Tech, Northwestern (Iowa), Oregon Tech, Ottawa (Ariz.), Ottawa (Kan.), Park (Mo.), Providence (Mont.), Viterbo (Wis.) and Xavier (La.).
• Ave Maria (Fla.), Oregon Tech, Ottawa (Ariz.), Life (Ga.), Blue Mountain (Miss.), Columbia International (S.C.), Edward Waters (Fla.), Florida College, Florida National, Midway (Ky.) and Park Gilbert (Ariz.) are making their first appearance in the national championship field.
• There are 13 teams in the 2021 field that are making their 10 or more appearance at the national championship: Bellevue (Neb.), College of Saint Mary (Neb.), Columbia (Mo.), Dordt (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), Indiana Wesleyan, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Madonna (Mich.), Missouri Baptist, Northwestern (Iowa), Texas Wesleyan, Westmont (Calif.) and Xavier (La.).
• The women's volleyball national championship opening round was implemented in 2008.
• Columbia (Mo.) and Madonna (Mich.) are the only teams with 20 or more appearances in the 2021 championship field.
• Columbia (Mo.) holds the highest number of appearances in the tournament field and all schools in tournament history with 27.
• The 2020 national champion Missouri Baptist returns to the championship field as the American Midwest Conference regular-season and tournament champion.
• There are five teams in the 2021 field that have previously won a title: Columbia (Mo.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Marian (Ind.), Missouri Baptist and Park (Mo.)
• Columbia (Mo.) and Park (Mo.) are the only team in the tournament field to have won more than one title. Columbia (Mo.) had four titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2015) and Park (Mo.) has two titles (2014-2018).
• Twenty-eight teams qualified for the 2021 national championship after competing in the 2020 championship.
• Jamestown (N.D.) enters the 2021 championship field as the only team with an undefeated, 31-0, record.

Up Next
• If EOU gets by CIU, the team will head back to the final site for the eight year in a row. The final site of the NAIA National Championships will once again be held in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center.
• Pool play will be Nov. 30-Dec. 1 with three teams battling in eight pools. The winner from each pool will advance to bracket play, which will take place Dec. 2-4.

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