LA GRANDE, Ore. – No. 8 Eastern Oregon University Volleyball played its first five-set match of the spring season Friday night as the Mountaineers took down the College of Idaho Coyotes 3-2 (24-26, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-6) inside Quinn Coliseum. Eastern came back from a 2-0 deficit to secure the home opening win against the Yotes.
 
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers (10-0, 9-0 CCC) hit just .169 for the match but held the Yotes (4-6, 4-5 CCC) .047 for the five sets. Eastern tallied 58 kills in the win and had six service aces on the night. The battle up front was a close one as EOU had a 13-12 edge in blocks over C of I.
• The first set was a back-and-forth affair as were most of the sets for the night. Early on neither team ever managed to lead by more than three points. College of Idaho managed to grab its largest lead of the set, 10-7, before a 7-1 run by the Mountaineers gave them a 14-11 edge.
• A kill from Cambree Scott up the middle got the run started and it was capped by another kill up the middle, this time by Preslee Jensen. Despite the surge, the Yotes fought their way back into the set and tied things up at 16-all.
• A 5-0 run from Eastern put the team up 21-16 but once again C of I had a response and went 6-0 run to regain the lead at 22-21. The two squads then traded points as it took extra to determine a winner. The Yotes 6-0 surge was key as they went on to win the opening set 26-24.
• Set No. 2 saw the Mountaineers jump out to a 5-1 lead early. A service ace from Kiley McMurtrey capped the early run for Eastern to give them the four-point lead. C of I had an answer as the Yotes slowly chipped away at the lead to force a 10-10 tie.
• EOU led 10-6 before a 6-0 run by the Yotes gave them a 12-10 lead. A service error by the Yotes followed by an ace from Aspen Christiansen tied the set at 12-all. It once again became a back-and-forth scoring affair with neither team leading by more than two until the later half of the set.
• The set was tied at 17-all when a 4-0 surge by the Yotes put them up 21-17. Eastern looked to answer and cut the score to 21-20, but the Yotes held on 25-21 to go up 2-0. For Eastern it was the first time they had trailed 2-0 in a match all season.
• With their backs against the wall for the first time this season, the Mountaineers came out in the third set needing an answer to avoid being swept. The Yotes did not make it easy by any means but EOU was able to secure the 25-22 win to make it a 2-1 contest.
• The set opened at 4-4 tie early on. EOU trailed 3-0 to start before piecing together a 7-1 run that gave the Mounties an 8-4 advantage. Like they had done in previous sets, the Yotes battled back and managed to tie the set up at 13-13 and made it a challenge for the Mountaineers.
• EOU was able to go back up three as back-to-blocks by the duo of Breanna Shaffer and Cambree Scott made it a 15-13 lead before a Yotes attack error pushed the score to 16-13. The efforts of Shaffer and Scott were key as the Mounties never relinquished the lead the rest of the set to avoid the sweep.
• Set No. 4 was controlled by Eastern late as the team forced a fifth and decisive set with a 25-17 win. C of I managed to contend early on, but the Mountaineers were able to pull away at the midway point. Eastern got help from multiple players to force the 2-2 match tie.
• A block from Madison Morgan and Scott capped a 4-0 run to start the set for EOU. Morgan then teamed up with Jet Taylor as the duo had two blocks early on to give the Mountaineers an 8-4 advantage. A kill from Shaffer a few plays later had EOU up 10-6 on the Yotes.
• C of I managed to force it way back into the set and tied the contest up at 10-10, but from that point on it was all EOU. The Yotes managed just seven points the rest of the set and were outscored 15-7. A kill from Jet Taylor made it 11-10 and sparked a 7-1 run for Eastern.
• Leading 17-11, Eastern looked to close out the fourth set in convincing fashion, but the Yotes made just one more push before succumbing to the Mounties. EOU led 23-14 before C of I scored three straight points late to potentially mount a comeback. It was silenced as a Taylor kill and an ace from Kiley McMurtrey ended the frame.
• The fifth set was all Eastern Oregon as the Mounties surrendered just six points to the Yotes to secure the come-from-behind victory. Eastern opened up the set with a 4-1 lead as a kill by Sade Williams gave EOU the three-point lead and forced a Yotes timeout.
• C of I managed to cut its deficit to three, 7-4, out of the quick break, but managed just two points the rest of the way. EOU went ahead 11-5 before the Yotes scored their final point. A Mariah Moulton service ace closed out the match and secured the 15-6 set win and the thrilling comeback for EOU.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Jet Taylor was a force on both sides of the ball to lead EOU in the win. She tallied 13 kills and had a game-high seven blocks in the win.
• Cambree Scott chipped in 11 kills on offense and had six blocks to help Taylor out up front.
• Madison Morgan added nine kills in the win and tallied five blocks.
• Breanna Shaffer also had nine kills to help the offense and posted four blocks.
• Kiley McMurtrey racked up a game best 24 digs and had one service ace.
• Aspen Christiansen also finished with double-digit digs with 14 and had a pair of service aces.
• Madison Pilon dished out 36 assists in the victory to facilitate the offense and tallied seven digs.
 
For the Yotes
• Austyn Mauzy had a game-high 14 kills to lead C of I.
• Danielle Neuman chipped in nine kills to help the offense and had one block.
• Brianna Barta led the front row with five blocks for the night.
• Chloe Knudson had 21 digs to lead the back row for the Yotes.
• Abigail Guinn and Margie Beeler each had 20 assists in the loss.
 
By the Numbers
113 – With her service ace on Friday night, Kiley McMurtrey is now the all-time career leader at EOU in service aces with 113.
26 – The 26 block assists for EOU on Friday night is the most in a single match this season.
74 – The 74 digs by the Mountaineers are a new single game high for the year.
.169 – The Mounties hitting percentage on Friday night is the lowest this season in any of their 10 wins.
90 – For seniors Kiley McMurtrey, Madison Pilon, and Aspen Christiansen, the win on Friday night was the 90th of their careers at EOU.
 
Up Next
• The Mountaineers and Yotes will square off once more tomorrow night (Saturday). First serve is set for 5 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.

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