LA GRANDE, Ore. - 12th-ranked Mountaineers Volleyball is ready to go for final site action at the 2021 NAIA National Championships! Eastern Oregon is back in the final site for the eighth consecutive year and will look to punch its ticket to bracket play once again.

The Mountaineers have made it to bracket play each of the last five seasons, dating back to 2016. Standing in the team's way will be a pair of nationally ranked opponents, both of which come out of the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the Midwest.

OPPONENTS
No. 21 Northwestern College Raiders (18-10, 9-7 GPAC)
No. 5 College of Saint Mary Flames (26-5, 13-3 GPAC)

WHERE
Sioux City, Iowa - Tyson Events Center

WHEN
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 3 p.m. PT - vs. Northwestern (Court 3)
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 11 a.m. PT - vs. College of Saint Mary (Court 1)

First Serve
• The Mountaineers (26-7) head back to Sioux City for the eighth year in a row in the hunt for a National Championship. 
• For Eastern, they have made it to bracket play five straight years and have gone as far as the quarterfinal round.
• Both of the Mountaineers' opponents in pool play are nationally ranked and come out of the same conference.

How to Watch/Follow
• The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all pool play and quarterfinal matches live at the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. 
• The video platform, powered by Presto, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while a pool play pass is $24.95 (November 30 – December 1) and a championship package is available at $39.95.
• EOU Students, faculty and staff wishing to watch the Mountaineers' pool play matches can do so in the Quinn Lobby area both days. Masks are required while in Quinn Coliseum.
• Live Stats for both matches can be accessed by clicking the respective link above and by clicking HERE.
• The semifinals on December 3 and the championship on December 4 will be streamed on ESPN3.

Pool Play/Bracket Play Breakdown
• The first two days of the tournament will consist of pool play matches. Pools are made up of three teams each and the teams that have the best record in each pool or win on a tie break scenario advance to the quarterfinals.
• The quarterfinals are the beginning of single elimination bracket play with the winners advancing to the semifinals and then the championship.

Story Lines
• The Mountaineers match-ups in pool play will be the first ever against either squad in program history.
• EOU has made it out of pool play into bracket play each of the last five years and will look to make it six straight. 
• Eastern is 14-6 all-time in pool play and has advanced out of pool play six times in program history.
• In neutral site action this year, the Mountaineers are 6-3 against opponents.
• With the two matches in pool play, EOU will have faced 10 ranked opponents this year. 

Quick Hits 
Last Time Out
• Eastern Oregon made quick work of its opening round opponent with a 3-0 sweep against the Columbia International Rams inside Quinn Coliseum back on Nov. 20.
• EOU hit .324 in the win and had a staggering 6-0 edge in service aces en route to the sweep.
• Sade Williams paced the offense with eight kills, while Breanna Shaffer added nine in the win. 
• Defensively, Cambree Scott and Preslee Jensen each had four blocks, while Hailey Arritola tallied 17 digs.
• With the sweep, EOU is now 3-0 all-time in opening round matches.

Previously Against Northwestern/College of Saint Mary
• Tuesday and Wednesday's match-ups will be the first ever against either squad for the Mountaineers.

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' 33 matches so far this season, 19 have ended in straight sets.
• EOU has fared well in three-set matches with a 17-2 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 109-12 record.
• In that span, the Mountaineers have never lost more than two games at home.
• Under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead, EOU is 141-22 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.

Neutral Site Nightmare
• The Mountaineers have fared well this season in neutral site contests with a 6-3 record.
• Of the six wins for Eastern, five have come in sweeping fashion.
• The lone win that was not a sweep for EOU was a five-set thriller over Oregon Tech in the CCC Tournament Semifinals.
• Under the direction of Kaki McLean Morehead, the Mountaineers are 82-44 in neutral site matches.

Individual Milestones
• Kaki McLean Morehead is two wins away from 340 for her career.
• Cambree Scott is seven blocks away from 520 for her career.
• Breanna Shaffer needs 17 more digs to reach 425 for her career.
• Jet Taylor is five kills away from reaching 650 for her career and six blocks away from 400 for her career.

Scouting the Competition
No. 21 Northwestern Raiders
• The Raiders head to the final site with an 18-10 overall record and are currently ranked 21st in the latest NAIA top-25 coaches' poll.
• In conference play, Northwestern was 9-7 on the year in the GPAC and made it to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. They finished fifth in the regular season standings.
• Offensively, the Raiders hit at a .214 attack clip and average 12.2 kills per set. They have 177 service aces this year and dish out 11.5 assists per set. 
• Defensively, the Raiders hold opponents to just a .140 hitting percentage and give up 10.8 kills per set. They average 15.9 digs per set and 2.4 blocks per set.
• Alysen Dexter paces the offense with 378 kills and average 3.67 per set. She hits .231 and has tallied 25 service aces this year. Her 25 service aces are fourth most on the team.
• Bekah Horstman is the second leading hitter with 299 kills. She hits a team best .349 and averages 2.90 kills per set. She also leads the defense up front with 131 blocks for an average of 1.27 per set.
• Jadeyn Schutt guides the offense in terms of assists with 639 on the year. She dishes out 6.20 per set and is also the team leader in service aces with 43. Schutt is second in digs with 243.
• Olivia Granstra is second in assists with 411 on the year. She averages 3.99 per set and has racked up 32 service aces this year.
• In the back row, Emily Strasser is the leader in digs with 476. She averages 4.62 per and has a reception percentage of .956. She is second in service aces with 36 and has also dished out 65 assists.
• Second in blocks is Macay Van't Hull with 90. She averages 0.93 per set and is third in kills with 149 on the season.

No. 5 College of Saint Mary Flames
• The Flames head to Sioux City with a 26-5 overall record and are currently ranked inside the NAIA top-10 at No. 5.
• CSM posted a 13-3 record in GPAC play finishing second in the regular season standings. They ultimately made it to the GPAC Tournament Semifinals before bowing out.
• Offensively, the Flames are hitting .225 on the year and average 13.3 kills per set. They have 164 service aces this season and dish out 12.2 assists per set.
• Defensively, CSM is holding its opposition to just a .126 attack clip and allowing 10.6 kills per set. They average 16.6 digs per set and 2.14 blocks per set.
• Makenna Freeman leads the offense with 296 kills on the year. She averages 2.67 per set and has also tallied 53 blocks. Seh si also second in service aces with 25.
• Rosa Reed-Bouley is second in kills at 283 and hits .261. She averages 2.46 kills per set and on defense she has 68 total blocks.
• Kamryn Willman leads the front row defense with 115 total blocks. She averages 1.03 blocks per set. 
• Dani Prusha is the floor general with 1,1161 assists this year. Her total is 14th highest in the NAIA and she averages 10.18 per set, which is 23rd in the NAIA. She is the team leader in service aces with 41 and has 303 digs which is second most for the Flames.
• Rachel Cushing leads the back row in digs with 640 on the tear. She averages 5.47 per set and has 19 service aces this season. 
• Elizabeth Dlouhy is second in blocks with 85 this season. She averages .085 per set and has also contributed 226 kills on offense.

Up Next
• Should the Mountaineers have the top record in pool F, they will advance to bracket play and face the winner out of pool C.
• In pool C is Missouri Baptist, Central Methodist (Mo.), and Dordt (Iowa).
• If the Mountaineers make bracket play, they will play on court one at 5:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, Dec. 2 in the quarterfinal round.

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